How to Calculate California Mortgage Taxes & Insurance
If you live in the state of California and you desire to buy a home, you should know how to calculate the taxes and insurance costs associated with home mortgages. To arrive at the best estimate of your monthly mortgage payment, you will have to estimate you property taxes, hazard insurance, and if required, the Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). Your local county assessor will provide the rate for your home property tax. The property tax is a percentage of value of your home. The hazard insurance is the insurance that most people are familiar with. This covers your property from damage to the home, like fire, hail, etc. PMI is insurance the lender requires the borrower to carry to protect the lender’s interest in the home. However, if the borrower pays at least 20% or more down on the property, he will be exempt from the PMI.
There are on line programs that you can access that will tell you the estimated taxes and insurances for your area of California. If you don’t have access to on line data, you can figure the costs for yourself. The instructions are moderately challenging but are broken into 11 easier steps.
Step 1: Determine what the price of the property is that you are considering. Write the price down.
Step 2: The first year tax bill will be 1.25% of the total property purchase price. The actual property tax rate is 1%. When you buy a house, the assessor is allowed to add on other assessments your first tax year. You want to estimate a little higher to capture these new assessment figures. For example: your house is $100,000. Multiply this amount by the 1.25% tax rate. $100,000 x .0125 = $1,250. The amount of your taxes the first year is $1,250.
Step 3: To find your insurance cost estimate you need to go on line. Find the website for the California Department of Insurance. On the site is a calculator you can use that will give you quotes from state approved insurance companies.
Step 4: On the California Department of Insurance website find ‘Consumer’. When you’re there place your cursor to display the drop down menu and then select ‘Compare Premiums’.
Step 5: You are now on the ‘Compare Premiums’ page of the website. Follow the link.
Step 6: Click on ‘2010 Homeowner’s Insurance’ link.
Step 7: Find the ‘location’ drop down box. From the drop down menu select the name of your city and county.
Step 8: From the ‘type of coverage’ drop down box pick the type of coverage you are looking for a quote on.
Step 9: From the ‘coverage amount’ drop down box pick the coverage your want. You should select the purchase price of your home.
Step 10: From the ‘age of the home’ drop down box select your home’s age.
Step 11: You have put all the information in that you need to obtain your quote. Click the ‘get premiums’ button. The premium that appears is that annual amount that you will pay if you purchase your insurance in the amount you entered from the state approved insurance provider.
