<prompt> Human: We have private mortgage insurance PMI on our mortgage since we only put a 10 down payment on our house. It costs about 80month. This month the principal balance on my mortgage reached 79.9 of the original appraisal and purchase price of my home. I believe this is referred to as a 79.9 loan-to-value LTV ratio. We have been paying extra towards principal since day one so we are ahead of schedule.I have spoken to my bank several times recently about removing PMI. They insist that I cannot remove PMI until I reach 78 LTV per the original amortization schedule. This would mean I have to continue to pay 80month in PMI for 3 more years.They also suggested that I alternatively could pay a 500 fee to have an appraisal done. If the remaining principal balance is 75 or less of the new appraised value, we could have PMI removed. There is no guarantee that the appraisal would be that much higher, and I would be out 500 either way.I read the second page of the Homeowners Protection Act and I think it implies that I can have PMI removed once my principal balance reaches 80 of the original value of the home. A borrower may initiate cancellation of PMI... when The principal balance of the loan ... Reaches 80 percent of the original value, based on actual paymentsWhere original value is the original sales price not loan amount.Clarifications: We have never missed or been late on a payment. We have been in the house for 4 years now. We live in the state of Illinois. There is one part of the Homeowners Protection Act that I see which maybe alludes to establishing the value of the property: Evidence of a type established in advance that the value of the property has not declined below the original valueTo me this may or may not imply that an appraisal is required, but it doesnt account for the 75 LTV against a new appraised value that my bank is saying would be required. It simply says that I need to establish that my property has not declined below its original value.So I have two questions: Am I off base in assuming that I can have PMI removed per the Homeowners Protection Act? I will be calling my bank back tomorrow to challenge their assertion that I cant cancel PMI yet, and I want to make sure that I am not off base. PMI is automatically removed when you hit 78 per the original amortization schedule. Why isnt it automatically removed when you hit 80 LTV, assuming you pay ahead of schedule? It seems like people are being tricked into paying PMI for years when its no longer required.edit - Typos and clarifications  <response>: This is very standard: banks are required to allow removal at 78 or 80 with a new appraisal. Reading through the legalese and interpreting it the way what you think it implies...hopefully you see the problem with this. 