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PMI stands for Private Mortgage Insurance. If a borrower has less than 20% equity in a property, the lender may require the insurance to cover any possible default on the loan. It is not a deductable item on your income taxes, so it is a good thing to avoid if you can and get rid of as soon as possible. If you have PMI you need to prove (and the lender does not always make it easy and certainly won't tell you how) that the equity in your property has reached that point- either by having reduced the balance owed through payments made or by apreciation of the property value. You will probably have to pay to have it assessed in value. WIth rates so low now, I would avoid any variable rate loans since the only way they can go is up. Also avoid interest only loans. Unless you make extra payments, you will never get it paid off and might as well stay a renter.
Some people have an escrow account set up for their property taxex. The way these work is that you pay a portion of your property taxes to your lender along with your monthly mortgage payment. They then pay the tax for you when it is due- which is usually twice a year. For many people, this helps them budget so they do not have to come up with the tax payment at one time. The lender has free use of your money until it is paid for you- you do not get any interest on it. If you can budget it yourself, then you can invest the money yourself and get your own interest on it. If the lender forgets to make the payment for you, you are still liable for the amount.
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I add new pictures to my photo gallery pretty regularly. You can see them here if you are interested: http://www.pbase.com/jeffryz 
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