You’ll see a lot of acronyms when you’re trying to buy a house, and one of the most important is LTV, which stands for loan-to-value ratio. Your down payment sets your initial LTV. For example, let’s say you’re planning to put $20,000 down on a house that has an appraised value of $200,000. In this case, your LTV would be 90 percent. You’re borrowing $180,000 – 90 percent of the home’s total value. As you make monthly payments and build equity, your loan-to-value ratio will change. Once your LTV hits 80 percent, it means you have 20 percent equity and the ability to cancel private mortgage insurance on a conventional loan.