<prompt> Human: My wife and I are just wrapping up school loans probably finished in August. Weve been throwing all of our extra cash about 1000 to 2000 per month at the loan so once its paid off well have zero debt, but also zero extra dollars other than an emergency fund. Wed like to get a house, but itll take about 3 years to save up the money to get the 20 needed for a downpayment. We see ourselves getting a house in the 180-220K range. Meanwhile, well be paying 800 bucks a month for rent. It seems like it would be pretty expensive to pay almost 30K in rent over the next three years, but I know there are at least a few other things that would cost us if we tried to get a house with zero money down like...mortgage insurance maybe?. Are there other things I need to consider when calculating when to buy a house? Would the interest rate that I would get applying with zero down offset the rent I would be paying? I feel like theres a lot I dont know about calculating costs associated with a home.  <response>: This may be a useful tool. One thing to consider is the increasing interest rates.Heres my situation. Wife and I bought a house at 358,000, mortgage is 2,085 a month. We put down 5 and PMI is around 125 a month. Could we rent cheaper? Certainly. However we found a gem. Last two houses in the neighborhood of comparable size sold for 435,000 and 450,000. We found a great deal. The house was owned by a woman who won it in a divorce and remarried out of state to a high-net husband. House was on the market for 1.5 years, originally at 500,000. This was probably around the 50th house we looked at.It is important to remember the hidden cost of home ownership. Repairs. Anything breaks and that is on you! I would recommend first putting in place a safety fund of at least 6 months, but modify that for what you think your mortgage will be and add 15 for a cushion. Once that is in place, be patient and find a good deal. 