Appraisals are usually part of ones closing costs at least here in Texas... Inspection fees are most always paid at the time of the inspection if not pre-paid before hand...

You can use the tax credit toward closing cost, but you have to put a minimum of 3.5% down.

Best advice at this point is to talk to a bank or loan office regarding first hand loan advice.

I don't know about the appraisal cost, but I own a home inspection company in Southern California and we only accapt payment on-site or in advance. I have heard of some home inspectors that will take payment trhough escrow, but it seems to be a more common practice to recieve payment on-site. many times the home inspection may bring to light certain issues that cause the buyer to decide that they do not want the home and if this happens, we have found that if we did not recieve payment up front or on-site, many times our payment has been overlooked (although we have already performed our job).