LMI usually refers to Lenders Mortgage Insurance , and there is no single fixed price for it – the cost depends on your property price, your deposit size, and the lender/insurer’s fee scales.

What LMI Is

  • LMI is a one‑off insurance premium that protects the lender if you can’t repay your home loan and the sale of the property doesn’t cover the outstanding balance.
  • It is typically charged when your deposit is less than 20% of the property value (loan‑to‑value ratio, or LVR, above about 80%).

How Much Is LMI (Typical Ranges)

  • For smaller loans and near‑80% LVR, LMI can start from around a few thousand dollars , e.g. roughly from about 1–2% of the loan amount in many Australian examples.
  • For higher LVRs (e.g. 90–95%) and bigger loans, the premium can climb steeply; some borrowers end up paying well over AUD 20,000–30,000 in LMI on high‑value properties.
  • Major Australian banks explain that the exact premium is calculated using internal tables based on your loan size, LVR, and sometimes property type and location.

In other words, “how much is LMI?” is always case‑by‑case – two people with different deposits or purchase prices can pay totally different amounts, even at the same bank.

How You Actually Find Your LMI Cost

Most lenders or brokers will:

  1. Take your property price, deposit, and loan amount.
  2. Look up an LMI rate from their insurer’s table (e.g. Genworth or QBE in Australia).
  1. Give you a quote that may be:
    • Paid upfront at settlement, or
    • Added (“capitalised”) onto your loan balance.

Because these tables aren’t fully public and vary between lenders, the only way to know “how much is LMI” for you is to get a personalised quote from:

  • A bank’s online LMI calculator (many Australian banks offer these), or
  • A mortgage broker who can run several scenarios for you.

Quick Rules of Thumb

  • Bigger deposit → lower LVR → lower or no LMI.
  • Bigger loan and higher LVR → higher LMI, sometimes adding tens of thousands to the cost of buying.
  • LMI does not protect you; it protects the lender, even though you pay the premium.

If you tell the property price, your deposit, and which country/bank you’re looking at, a rough ballpark range can be estimated for your situation (still not exact, but closer than generic ranges).

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.