Home owners insurance is never deductible as a personal expense on schedule A.
You can deduct real property taxes you pay starting from the date you purchase the property. The official sale date is typically listed on the settlement statement you get at closing and any property taxes paid by the buyer are deductible, as long as they are not delinquent property taxes. On a HUD statement, these will be on lines 106 and 107.
As far as escrow amounts for real estate taxes, they are deductible when paid to the taxing authority by your lender and they most often are on your form 1098.
