Electricity is one thing that is not cheap in the Philippines. Meralco customers in Manila are reporting huge increases in their latest April 2010 electric bills. Like increases to P13.25 ($0.294) per kWh.
PMI is not a cost you have to pay for throughout the life of your loan. You can eventually cancel private mortgage insurance, once your principal balance drops to 80% or less of your home's original purchase price or the amount you financed in a refinance loan. This reduces the size of the loan that you can use for the home purchase or the size of the refi loan that you qualify for. 2  It is not tax deductible, unlike the interest that you pay on the money you borrow to buy a home or to finance a refinance loan on a traditional mortgage.
If your AGI ranges between $100,000 and $109,000, you can use a worksheet included with Schedule A of your income tax form to determine how much you can deduct from your taxes. Borrowers with an AGI less than $100,000 can deduct 100% of their PMI premiums. The PMI tax deductions are effective for both home purchase and refinancing transactions. Depending on household income, both FHA MIP and USDA can be deductible as well. If you own the property jointly, or if another person paid a portion of the insurance premiums, you can claim only the amount that you paid.