When you’re shopping for houses, you can get giddy when you plug your numbers into a mortgage calculator and discover your dream home has a surprisingly low monthly payment. It’s lying to you. Mortgage payments are only part of the myriad costs home ownership heaps upon you.

Thousandaire warns you to consider all the added costs of owning rather than renting. Closing costs, homeowners insurance, private mortgage insurance, utility bills, repairs and yard upkeep are among the ways home ownership can surprise you.

The writer recommends taking the figure a mortgage calculator gives you and tacking on an additional 30 percent to get a ballpark idea of what your prospective new residence may actually cost.

Mortgage Calculators Don’t Tell the Whole Story [Thousandaire]

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