We took out our first mortgage in 2001. Along with principal, interest, taxes and insurance, there's an added fee for first time mortgage borrowers and those who can't afford 20 percent down-- PMI--Private Mortgage Insurance. It's a fee you pay to guarantee that you will pay your mortgage. After collecting that extra $25 a month from us, for a few years we would have proved that we would pay and the PMI would be removed. Or so we were told. Read on Expensive Lessons Learned on PMI Private Mortgage Insurance