I heard the same story several times this month, so it's time to post something: Private mortgage insurers, those folks who sell you a policy if you can't scrape up a 20 percent down payment to buy a home, are turning into hard-headed debt collectors.

St. Petersburg Realtor Steve Capen related the latest ominous twist. A client of his dumped her pre-foreclosure home through a short sale, only to discover her PMI provider demanded she repay $25,000 in installments.

PMI covers part of the financial loss when banks foreclose on homes. No big deal when the housing market is booming. But with tens of thousands of Tampa Bay homes falling into default, PMI is bleeding red ink and greenbacks.

Mortgage insurers are getting devious about extracting cash.

Capen's client agreed to a $25,000 promissory note to her PMI company. The insurer did a credit check and discovered the homeowner, though claiming a hardship, was current on her car payments. If you can afford the car you can afford a monthly installment to little ol' us. So the insurer argued.

I can't help thinking we'll be seeing much more of this. As they recover their financial footing in 2010, financial institutions might start pressing homeowners to repay some debts they'd assumed were cleared.