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Originally Posted by Juxtaposition109
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The general rule is that you have to have ~20% equity in the house to get a loan without private mortgage insurance (PMI). With PMI, you can usually request cancellation as soon as the loan-to-original value (LTV) reaches 80% and the company is usually required to cancel it once LTV hits 78%. With FHA, as you are aware, mortgage insurance premiums (MIP) are currently for the life of the loan (until you pay it off or refinance).
So, you can look at a mortgage amortization schedule to figure out when you would hit 80% LTV. However, as midwestlaxer indicated, this is usually a very extended period of time for a 30 year mortgage. However, that time could come much sooner thanks to appreciation in the housing stock. Even 1-2% appreciation per year can make a big difference in when you hit the 80% LTV level and therefore can refinance without the MIP. If you lived in an area that was quickly appreciating, theoretically you could refinance in just a few months and get rid of the MIP.
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My wife and I are in the process of buying our first home. We will have a 30 yr FHA loan. The mortgage insurance is going to run us around a good $200 extra a month. I know that unless you refinance the home you never get rid of the PMI. Does anyone know of average amount of time, payments, etc... that are required before you can refinance the home in order to get rid of the PMI? Thank you for any good info you can give me and have a good day. 
