Buying your first home can be very complicated and frustrating.
It can also be an extremely exciting event.
Just like Dorothy said, "there's no place like home.
"Owning a home opens up a whole plethora of freedoms to decorate your home any way you want and to make any changes that you may like.
If you want to paint all the rooms bright pink, you can.
If you want to build a pond in the back yard, you can.
It's your house, and you can do whatever you want.
As we all found out recently, however, sometimes life gets in the way of that dream.
Sometimes, we can't make our loan payments.
This is where private mortgage insurance can come into play.
In the early stages of a mortgage, most lenders (banks) expect you to pay a large initial payment (down payment) of at least 20 percent of the loan.
If you don't, they then expect you to get some private mortgage insurance.
This insurance protects the lender in the case of default.
If you can't make the monthly payments, the insurance will cover it.
PMI will not cover anything but the payment, so you want to make sure that you still have a homeowners insurance policy in place.
If your house catches fire and burns to the ground, you won't have to worry about making the payments, but you also won't have a home.
PMI is only to cover if you fail to make your payments.
Whether you think you need private mortgage insurance or not, lenders will require it on any mortgages that don't have 20 percent down payments.
Even if you do have the 20 percent down payment, it still might not be a bad idea.
No job is guaranteed.
If you lose your job, change jobs, or have to relocate, your PMI can step in and make your payment.