How many signs do you need?

A friend of mine recently said to me something along the lines of 'Exactly how many signs do you need to smack you in the face telling you to run away from this house?' Good point. I do wonder if perhaps some larger force is at work (fate, destiny, what have you) putting all these obstacles in my way to warn me off of this house before it's too late. How foolish do I have to be to continue to push past the obstacles that keep popping up? After all, they say the definition of insanity is to keep repeating the same action expecting a different result.

On the other hand, there's always the belief that nothing worth having comes easily. Maybe the obstacles are a way of testing my determination. Renovating an old house is not for the faint of heart- you're dealing with uneven walls & floors, unexpected problems, repairing anything can be twice as hard and they can turn into a black hole for your wallet and your free time. So, if a little trouble now is too much to handle, get thee to a new build with haste.

I have an appointment for a phone conference with my lender this afternoon. They'll be expecting me to tell them I have all my ducks in a row. Instead, I get to explain to them how my general contractor took a powder at the last minute and that, barring some miracle or lottery jackpot, another $3,000 cash is not possible. Can you call in sick for a conference call?