<prompt> Human: Hey PF,I am asking this question for my parents. I apologize if this forum is the wrong one but figured Id try.My parents originally bought a home back in 2014 and didnt have enough down to avoid PMI. They recently came into a windfall and decided to pay down a large portion of the mortgage balance. According to the numbers they gave me, the property appraised at 166,000 and the loan balance is currently only about 21,000 left.They have since asked to have the PMI removed and after the bank started dragging their heals for a few weeks, they came back and said they needed to pay 400 for an appraisal and then they will remove PMI.My question is does this seem a bit strange? I would imagine only having 21k left on the balance of the loan would show that the equity is far more than enough to have the PMI removed. Now I have to figure out whether its worth doing the appraisal if thats the route they have to take.  <response>: My question is does this seem a bit strange?No, this is the standard. get the appraisal. 