If I haven't mentioned it before, I am in the process of trying to buy a house. I had a home inspection done yesterday, and everything turned out well.

Prior to the inspection, I got an email from my mortgage officer asking about the status of the loan paperwork. The "paperwork" he's referring to is the 85 page document that he emailed me this past Friday night. Why he felt that was the way I wanted to kick my weekend off is beyond me, but it is what it is.

The thing is, I have a 14 day contingency period - essentially 14 days (including weekends) to change my mind on this entire deal and just walk away. That time period doesn't end until next week. I figured I would let that time period pass BEFORE I start signing anything.

One of the main expenses you must pay for when buying a house is a home appraisal. There's no way around it. The catch is, you must pay for it BEFORE you actually go to closing. My mortage broker was asking me about paying for the appraisal. I told him (essentially) to slow his roll. The contingency period isn't over and I haven't gotten my inspection yet. Additionally, the loan hasn't even been approved. I have no doubts that the loan will go through, but still.

I'm under the impression that he thought by him asking me again would put a fire under me. He mentioned it in the email he sent me with the documents (did I mention it was 85 pages), and it's in the actual list of documents itself - a credit card authorization form that is. I told him I'm reading every page of that document and I have concerns about paying for the appraisal so soon.

Lo and behold he said we can hold off on the appraisal until we get the loan approval. Yeah...that's right. That's what I thought.

So, when you looking at buying anything or obtaining services from a company (or even a person) make sure you read everything CAREFULLY and ask questions. Even if you think it will make you sound stupid. Why not? Like my mom said, Warren Buffett would ask, so why shouldn't you?