Buying a house is one thing, the cost of maintaining it is yet another. Taxes, insurance, utility bills, water bills, lawn care. Then there is the move-in cost of large appliances. Then the occasional repair and maintenance costs from the basement floor sinking, to the roof needing replacement, peeling paint, leaky plumbing, cracked foundation, wood deck rotting, backed up drain, whatever else can go wrong. The more you can do your self, the better off you going to be.