What goes into buying a house?

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I'm seeing signs all over my town for a realtor's office that say they can sell you a house for monthly payments of $750. I thought that sounded awesome and I could totally afford that plus whatever extra for utilities but my parents said its a scam. There are tons of hidden fees that will rocket the monthly payment up to way more than I can afford. Is this true? How can I tell if I can really afford a house or not?

The hard part for most people is the down payment, usually between 5 and 10% of the purchase price for first time buyers. I put down 22%, and was able to pay it off in 11 years.

Your parents may be right about those super low mortgages. An adjustable rate mortgage may start out low and jump to be much higher if interest rates change. Better to get a fixed rate mortgage as most people's incomes don't jump with inflation.

Their signs claim they don't have down payments and their monthly rates are $750. Unless I'm missing something there isn't anything about them being adjustable.

There could certainly be a situation where no down payment was required. But what exactly does that 750 amount cover?
All those signs do not represent actual dwellings that are being sold but someone who simply wants to find and sell you a place. No one has your best interests at heart except you. Where are those inexpensive dwellings? Next to a swamp?
If a house is super cheap, there is ALWAYS a reason. Sometimes you get lucky and the person just needs to move fast or needs to get out from under their mortgage but you need to research the property. Is a highway/train/airport about to be built there? A chicken farm being built next door?
There are many many fees involved in buying and selling real estate, especially if a loan is involved. The situation varies from state to state and country to country. I'm about to move into my 12th house. If you think you might be able to afford to move into your own place there are calculators online that can roughly figure out the cost of getting a loan or approximately what your mortgage might be. Those people with signs up don't have some magic formula that is not available to every other real estate agent. Start doing some research online about down payments, closing costs, title search and title insurance, radon testing fee, termite inspection, home inspection (yes those are all separate and not overlapping inspections), legal fees, realtors fees, property taxes, mortgage insurance (usually for first time buyers or certain loans to protect the lender), h.o.a. fees, home insurance (to cover the loss of the structure itself), and all the other tidbits that are added on to loans and thus your monthly fees or upfront costs. I would bet that amount on those signs doesn't cover all those.
I don't want to discourage you. Owning your own home is a dream come true but some people are willing to let you put your money and sweat into owning something they know you can't afford, though that is less common after the housing crisis.
Aside: Just had a fellow here who thought he was renting a house only to find out the guy who rented it to him didn't own it.
Buyer always beware!
Zillow is a great place to start looking at what costs what and where its located. I like to start on zillow and if something looks interesting I plug the address into google maps so that I can have a 360 degree view and move down the streets.

It may also be that the monthly payments are covering the loan interest of the mortgage, but paying none or very little of the capital, in which case, you could pay forever without ever owning the property outright.

http://www.allenshomesite.com/Mortgage_ ... 23681.html
"How many times have you seen ads that say... Get a $250,000 mortgage for $750 a month!

Seriously?

I don't think so. Ok, maybe if you put 30% in a down payment, got an adjustable rate mortgage (not a good idea), and did not include your property tax or insurance in that amount. Don't be fooled! You will never get blind-sided if you are well-informed and know what to expect in your transaction."