Effect of paying extra on mortgage?

We all have seen and heard “Renting is throwing your money away”. If we assume that purchasing a home is the step to take, what is the effect of getting less home and paying the same amount in a mortgage as if you had gotten “the dream” home? As Jeremy has pointed out, there are a plenty of costs associated with owning a home that can make it less appealing. One of which is the interest on the bank loan. Disregarding PMI, what effect would it have to make extra payments (one extra per year, double per year, etc…) on a mortgage, compared to the standard approach?

If you buy less home and more aggressively pay off the mortgage, you will be much more rich than buying the bigger home! You’ll pay less mortgage interest, less property tax, less insurance, less maintenance, less realtor fees. You’ll have more money sooner going into other investments. I think this “buy vs buy” comparison is relatively close to what you’re describing:

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