Buying a house might oftentimes be the biggest expenditure in your life. When choosing which house suits your financial needs best you have to factor in, not only mortgage payments, but also closing costs, home insurance, home owner's association fees, taxes and general maintenace dues. You might need new furniture, some repairs and of course pay the bills!
I like how this article explains it very clearly:
https://www.aol.com/article/finance/2017/01/25/from-closing-costs-to-association-dues-the-true-price-tag-of-a/21662564/