I know i have to get my mortgage principal down about 20% but how would i start the process of getting rid of that damn PMI. I live in New York and have a M&T bank mortgage of 80,000

you can refinance into a low PMI program...like mycommunity or you can pay it down....or wait to the value increases

When you have paid down your mortgage 20%, contact your lender and ask to have the PMI removed.

PMI is based on LTV - loan to value. Get some more skin in the game (cash) and/or force the appreciation. Add a deck, remodel the kitchen or bath, do something that will add lots of value.At 80K loan the value only needs to be at or above 100K. Once the value is there refi into a fixed rate with 80% or less LTV and the PMI will go away. Work on your credit as well if you've had any issues that may reduce your ability to qualify.

there is 3 ways of getting rid of PMI:1. Paying down the principal to 80% like other people suggest.2.Refinancing- if this is beneficial for you (lover interest rate)3.Check how much your house is worth and if the value of the house rise to 75% - you can ask the M&T to remove your PMI.Most likely they would like to see the appraisal report to prove, that the value of your house go up.

If you have good credit and are disciplined, get one, or preferrably more, of those 0% intro rate credit cards that lock for 12 months. Apply for multiple cards at the same time so you have enough credit to do the strategy I will suggest below. You can apply for multiple cards at a site like App-o-rama, http://app-o-rama.com/. In addition to the 0% rate, many card will offer cash back and other rewards.Then pay down your mortgage using the cards at cardit.com. I checked and M&T is on their list. If you are able to transfer $16k off your mortgage on onto your 0% cards, you can keep it on the cards and balance transfer into another 0% card every 12 months. There will be a service fee for cardit, but not only will this remove your PMI, but over time, you will be paying less on the $16k loan than you were previously by using the intro rate programs. Be careful, this isn't for everyone. Miss one credit card payment and those 0% rates go poof and will easily shoot up above 20%. Even still, this creative option can save you money and build up your credit file.