Ya, that part sucks. I had to have PMI on my loan, then there's insurance, utilities, and maintenance. That can be the worst part, depending on how old the home is or how it was constructed. My place was 40 years old when I bought it. I've replaced every appliance in 5 years since I moved in and had to fix 2 dozen other things. Youtube is your friend when it comes to home repairs if you don't know how to do a particular job. You're about to discover how good of a plumber, carpenter, landscaper, painter and electrician you can be and if you need to call someone to do a repair, how much that can cost. If the place holds together, however, you pay a lot less than you would in rent and then you have equity also. At this moment, if I was you, I'd save up your money and wait for the imminent housing bubble pop.