in which i have more HPAP updates and start using images

I spoke earlier today with my HPAP adviser, as I had emailed her earlier with the list of documents I've collected. At the advice of the real estate broker who led the first "so you want to buy your first home" seminar I attended, I had contacted her in advance to make sure I had all my proverbial ducks in a row. Having probably never heard of me aside from the fact that I'm one of many names on her calendar for next week, I'm sure she had the classic whoa face when she signed into her email this morning and came across my message:

On top of listing all the documents I'd pulled together, I also listed all the other documents from the list that I hadn't collected, along with the reason why it didn't apply to me. Among other reasons, there's the fact that I have no kids, have never been married, my only source of income is from one salaried job, I don't have the option to buy the apartment I currently rent, I've never filed for bankruptcy, and I am a United States citizen. As a result, there are quite a few documents I not only don't need, but don't have in the first place.

So, mid-afternoon I got a call from the very kind lady who will come to know me for all my Type A glory, and we went through all the items I needed. She confirmed that I'm good to go with my collection, and reminded me I'll need to bring a check to have my credit report drawn, and with that conversation I was told my intense preparation is likely going to result in a quick turn-around. This was my response:

This, folks, is why the list book is a thing. List making results in list completing; list completing results in being prepared. When I don't make lists, I don't get to make the woo-hoo! face.

Even though I've been informed I'm prepared, I'm still holding out total celebration until next Tuesday, when the application gets submitted. In the meantime, I'm busying myself creating a table of contents for my application materials and making more lists and discovering more blogs. I also took it upon myself to subscribe to ShopSmart, which is a subset of Consumer Reports, but designed to look more like a lady magazine. The reason this one is useful, considering I already subscribe (happily) to Lucky and Real Simple, is because Consumer Reports (and therefore ShopSmart) is a nonprofit organization - as such, they're not beholden to ad sales, meaning there's no danger they're subtly trying to sell me something. Lucky and RS are great for references (things to look for when you're buying something); ShopSmart is great for reviews (things to actually buy).