Should you go for a piggyback mortgage? - 2004-01-15
Home buyers who can't afford a 20-percent down payment usually will have to buy private mortgage insurance, or PMI. This protects the lender in case the buyer defaults on the mortgage, although the homeowner pays the monthly premium.

Getting rid of PMI isn't easy or automatic -- but some homeowners are avoiding it altogether. A small but growing number of buyers are choosing an alternative to PMI: piggyback mortgages.
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Reasons for mortgage refinancing - 2004-01-15
Mortgage bankers are used to saying that the refinancing boom is over, even as large numbers of homeowners continue to stream into mortgage offices to refinance their loans.

2004 is expected to be the sixth-biggest year ever for refinancing home loans. Doug Duncan, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association, estimates that homeowners will refinance $447 billion this year.
Read the full story at Bankrate.com