Yep. Banks require it to protect their investment. Don't know how long that's been going on, but everyone I know has it.
Ahhh, but what if its paid for?
Its you're choice at that point. But as long as the bank is the one who actually holds the title, you're paying the Jew a little extra.
Actually that reminds me. Another new thing is mortgage insurance. Again, not sure if it applies to all home loans, but until you pay up to 20% of the loan, they require this new bullshit called mortgage insurance. Those early years of owning a house are brutal.
Pro tip...you can sometimes get around mortgage insurance with a HELOC. Bought my house as an 80 /10/ 10. I got a 1st mortgage of 80%, put down 10%, and got a HELOC of 10%. Since the mortgage was 80% I did not need mortgage insurance. The HELOC was interest only = low min payment, so I was able to pay it down faster. After ~ 5 years the value increased so I refinanced. The new mortgage paid off the previous two and I was now under 80% at that point.
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