My little rant on home equity loan
Your overall mortgage costs will therefore be less if you come up with 20 percent down and can avoid having to pay PMI. What if you put down less than 20 percent? If you are unable to make the 20 percent down payment, purchasing PMI may be your next best option. And once you reach 22 percent equity in your home (or sometimes 20 percent equity with a good payment history), you can get your lender to cancel the insurance. An alternative is to apply for an 80/10/10 loan. It enables you to avoid PMI by financing half of the required 20 percent down payment with a second mortgage.