I think I have thought all this through, but I would like to make sure I am not missing anything. I've been reevaluating all expenditures again and have been able to lower bills I thought were immutable through discounts so I thought I would take a crack at the mortgage.
History:
7/30/2012 I bought my house for $67,000. I have a 30 year FHA with 5 year FHA insurance @ 3.25%.
2/02/2015 Balance is now $60,000. However, home value has gone up a lot. I don't actually have an appraisal, but based on local sales and Zillow ($116,000) I am guessing it's worth $85,000 - $90,000. At a minimum I'm over the 78% LTV.
With FHA you are required to pay the FHA mortgage insurance (a version of PMI) for five years. I know, I'm lucky I got in before they became LIFE OF THE LOAN. According to the bank, I cannot ask for the FHA PMI to be removed based on current value as it is only based on value when purchased (according to a letter and an email that I asked to verify). My balance would need to be under $53,000 by 7/30/17 for the FHA to be removed. The FHA is about $70 a month, roughly $2,400 OOP going to nothing from now until 7/30/17.
I am working to pay off other debt (car loan, student loan) right now and am hoping to be free of both of those within 2 years. Leaving me with 6 months to pay as much to the house as possible to ensure it's below that $53,000. Worst case scenario I end up paying it a couple extra months.
I just don't believe I can refinance into a better deal. Am I wrong? Just want to double check my work.