I'm not sure I agree with the previous poster about phones, but I never signed a 50 page lease agreement. Typically they have been about three pages. Buying a house requires a bit more and a home loan requires a lot more, but it's only once you are taking a home loan out that you end up with a contract comparable to what internet companies come up with. Further, when you take out the home loan and make the purchase, there is a human being to walk you through the details. Also, I consider a house purchase to be significantly more serious than a pay-go phone.