The benefits of home ownership include the fact that the money you're putting into a property can be seen as an investment that will repay down the road if you ever sell the property, as well as the fact that — barring local zoning laws or HOA restrictive covenants — you can do any damn thing you want to it.
The drawbacks, as you noted, are that you're responsible for fixing everything that needs fixed, paying the mortgage, property taxes, insurance, maintaining the property, including lawn care and such. Other drawbacks include having to sell the property if you ever want to move, which can be a hassle, especially if the value of the property goes down for some reason.
Of these things, remember that your mortgage, property taxes and home owners insurance will probably all be packaged into a single monthly payment — your mortgage company will likely take care of taxes and insurance for you when required, as part of your monthly payment goes into an escrow account to cover those expenses.
If you're looking at fixer-uppers, you may need to take out a home improvement loan, as well, and working on your own place will require you to have or develop a lot of skills like carpentry, electrical, lawn care and the like, unless you just have the money to hire all that work out. Say goodbye to any free time you're used to having, at least for a while. Most of the year, you'll have to mow the lawn regularly, at least. In the winter, you'll have to worry about snow removal, if that's an issue where you live. On the one hand, all that manual labor is good for you — plenty of exercise. On the other, it's hard, money- and time-intensive work.
An option you may want to consider is looking at a condo. In a condo, maintenance and such is usually managed by an outside firm that the condo association hires, so you get the benefits of home ownership with the benefits (and drawbacks) of apartment living. Condo fees can be steep, though, depending on where you are.
So many decisions to make. Good luck.
