Am I supposed to pay out of pocket for appraisal fee on top of closing costs??

Hi

Appraisal fees are often included in the closing costs. You do not need to pay fees for the appraisal if it is included in the closing costs. Refer to the good faith estimate provided by the lender. If the appraisal fees are included in the closing costs, you ought not to pay any the fees separately.

typically that is the case, if you are doing a refinance, you cash out the amount of the appraisal to get the money back you paid at the beginning.

with the new rules in place regarding how appraisals are done, lenders are asking for up-front payment of the appraisal fee. when you get to closing, you will note that the fee is shown on your closing documents as "poc" which means "paid outside closing." it is, indeed, part of your closing costs, but collecting it upfront is the way virtually everyone is going. it's not like you will get double-billed.