I will admit that a lot of my hesitation toward home owning may stem from a lack of education on personal finance issues. I know how to balance my own budget, but I'm certainly not very knowledgeable on what I should pay for things, how I should go about getting loan, what kind of loan I should get, what I should put down, etc. I guess I should get educated. Easier said than done, though. Part of what's so scary to me is the risk of it all. As a first time home buyer who's also on his first real job, I don't want to make a mistake and I don't want to get ripped off, and I definitely don't want to get in over my head. Unfortunately those are all things which realtors don't seem to care much about. Oh well. I guess I'll figure it out. Slow and steady wins the race, I suppose, and it won't kill me to rent while I try and figure out what's best for me.
Honestly, and I'll take the flack from this, but you sound like you have your mind made up and are finding reasons to justify it. I have owned five houses in my life - including one in the Philly area, where you are talking about - and I don't share one of your experiences. Realtors are like any other profession: there are good ones and there are shysters. just so happens that near cities (like Philly) there are are more shysters per square mile than in a small town.
It's already been said, but don't use "small print estimates". Get REAL numbers. Also, no one here has factored in closing costs (which could be bad if they come out of your pocket, but which many sellers will pay or contribute to) but also the tax benefit (which is good come tax time; you get to write off all the interest you paid on your investment).
Also, while I can't argue with the "legwork" aspect of homeownership, if you renters think you are not paying for the snow removal service or the appliances/maintenance, you're not paying attention. Rental properties are INVESTMENT properties. The landlords want to make money. And they factor in the cost of appliance replacement and maintenance and put it in your rent. Sure, in a condo or apartment complex, it gets spread out among all the properties, but it is likely in a situation like that, it is spread out if you own as well (through common fees or homeowner association fees). The only difference is in cash flow, but even then, you tend to lose, because you are paying for a replacement appliance that, if you move out before it breaks, you don't even get to use!
There is always the exception to the rule, and I understand that (so no need to point it out) but as a general proposition, there is no financial way that - apples to apples - renting beats ownership of residential real property.