How can I estimate homeowners insurance when I haven't found a home?

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.

Are you using a realtor? They can tell you.

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!

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.

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.