“What does it really cost to own a house, though? My best friend’s second cousin bought a Victorian fixer-upper and was bankrupt two years later.” The questions and concerns that escape the mouths of young renters can be incredibly revealing about the greatest obstacle for first time homebuyers. Fear. Fear of the unknown. Even worse, fear of the seemingly unknowable. A big down payment, closing fees, an unanticipated sewer bill, a surprise insurance spike and didn’t the local news just do a piece about HOAs sending notices about unpaid dues transferring from the previous homeowner to the new? From genuine concern about the initial costs of taking the first step on the home ownership ladder to unrealistic nightmare scenarios involving powerful banks, sinkholes and stubborn poltergeists, it’s hard to measure how many potential homeowners are still on the sidelines as a result of easily extinguished fear. Swiftly introducing the young home shopper to PITI (principal, i