Homeowners' Insurance? (Portland, Tualatin, West Linn: for sale, real estate, how much)

[Scotch99]

DH just accepted a job offer and we'll be moving to the Portland area from the midwest this summer. We recently visited the Portland metro area to get a sense of the housing market (and contemplate whether to accept the offer). I'm still in sticker shock over the prices and am sorry about the fact that we'll never be able to afford a house as nice or large as the one we currently own. We don't currently plan to return to Portland until April to do more serious house hunting, but I've been searching for sale listings online. I'm trying to calculate exactly how much house we can afford. I can find the property tax info on the real estate listings, and I'd like to get an idea about the homeowners' insurance cost in the area. I see online quote sites but they all seem to require name/contact info and I'm not ready to give that out to any agency.

Could someone give me an idea the range we could expect to pay on a 2-story 3 or 4 bedroom with 2+ bath house, probably in the Tualatin or West Linn area that costs roughly between $275K to $400K (gulp)? (I know that is a huge price range, and one reason I'd like to get a better sense of all the additional costs that will be added to our monthly debt is to narrow down the price range.)

Do folks in the area typically pay for earthquake or flood coverage?

For comparison, right now we live in a 2500+ finished sq. ft. house with huge unfinished basement on a .25 acre lot that is assessed at roughly $260K and pay around $1000/yr in homeowners' insurance (which includes tornado coverage) and roughly $3500/yr in property taxes.

TIA!

[haggardhouseelf]

A realtor in the area where you will be moving to would be able to help you with these questions. Good luck with your move!

[Nell Plotts]

Perhaps your current home insurer does business in Oregon. If that is the case ask for a name of their agent in this area and give a call.

Property tax info is available online. Pick a place that you think might be in your range on a realtor's web site (PM me for one that posts addresses) then look up the property taxes for that home on the Multnomah County website (the link escapes me but others I am sure will provide the info). The same should be available for Clackamas and Washington Counties. This should be used only for estimation purposes as there are a variety of special purpose taxing districts that could be applicable to a specific residence.

I don't know anyone who opts for earthquake insurance on a residence. It is very expensive and the deductibles are high. Have a home inspector include recommendations for earthquake upgrades when you get that far on a house. The most frequent need is to tie the house down to the foundation.

Flood insurance is a good idea because water damage can occur for events other than raising rivers

Maybe because my husband is a retired architect and my father was a civil engineer, I strongly recommend you have a geologist look at your building site. Slides and the like weren't a concern in the 'good old days' but with all the infill development, and the cities requiring homes to retain storm-water onsite, you should consider that risk. I know it is a long shot that you have to deal with that (a risk far lower than tornadoes in your home state) but you can't insure yourself against land slides.

[Scotch99]

Thanks for the replies. I just discovered zillow.com and its home listing calculators include estimated tax and insurance! So that has been helpful.