Comments on: How Can I Estimate Homeowners Insurance When I Haven't Found a Home?

By: Ron B

Ron B — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:25:17 +0000

Since every state, and city, have different tax and insurance rules, it is hard to figure out exactly what you are after. Insurance policies generaly run 50-100 a month and taxes are extremely varied.

That being said, there are general rules of thumb for estimating your maximum housing expense.

Across the nation, homeowners can generally expect to pay $800- $850 per month for every 100K of house they have. If you put more money down, you can lower this significantly, but this is a general rule.

You need to have double this amount in pretax income to be safe. That means 1600-1700 in income for every 100K you buy.

Your best bet is to talk with a realtor or mortgage broker in your area to get more specific.

By: DannoREA

DannoREA — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:35:49 +0000

A half decent rule of thumb in Pennsylvania is that you'll pay $4 per thousand per year. Dunno about other states.

Taxes vary from property to property. 2 identical houses across the street from each other can have significantly different tax bills.

By: jestduck1

jestduck1 — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 17:53:31 +0000

Go to your county for the tax mil rate - this is the multiplier the county/locale uses for determining taxes on value. Your insurance is going to be dependant on a couple factors - what percentage you put down, value of the real property and value of owned property (talk to your insurance agent). Many Real Estate companies offer a mortgage calculator on their websites, which you can use to figure out payments on most homes.

You really need to be working with a Realtor, preferably in a Buyer Agency. You will be protected in your purchase, and a good, honest Realtor will help you figure out exactly what you should be looking at. You should also find a mortgage lender right away, some of them also offer client education on smart homebuying.

Good luck with your new adventure!

By: engineer50

engineer50 — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 17:12:09 +0000

Are you using a realtor? They can tell you.

By: ebony_texan

ebony_texan — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:31:27 +0000

Go the the taxing authorities homepage for your county (Google it). You can look up the average taxes on the homes for the neighborhoods you are considering.