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:

another awesome blog: apartment therapy

Somehow this escaped my radar for a long time, but Apartment Therapy is a definite must-read for, well, anyone! While its name implies a renter-specific bent, it is generally rent-or-buy neutral. More than anything else, it's a great resource for living in a small space. There's a heavy emphasis on minimalism (a favorite of mine) and a diversity of design styles.

TIPsgiving and the reveal of the list book

Every year I have the great joy of reuniting with an amazing group of friends for what we call TIPsgiving. This proclaimed holiday, which originally occurred in November (hence the name) and has begun to creep toward the early part of the year, is a very important day of the year: it's when we come together, cook an incredible meal (well, mostly we let one friend with incredible kitchen skills handle this task), play a ton of games, drink delicious beer and wine, and sit around telling stories and making one another laugh. This year was no different.

really awesome blog: mintlife

Are you familiar with the personal finance interface at Mint.com? It's pretty impressive. I don't actually use it, because my bank account's web access is based on it (PNC Virtual Wallet, y'all - the name implies it's geared toward an 18-year-old with her first Grown Up Bank Account, but I've stopped caring because it's so darn wonderful). BUT! I discovered, perhaps late in the game, their exceptional blog, Mintlife. And it's my new favorite.

HPAP update: almost there!

If you've met me for five minutes, you know I'm exceptionally Type A - and when it comes to massive financial investments, I'm exponentially moreso. When I applied for student loans, I read every. single. word of the promissory notes. As such, you probably won't be surprised to hear that I've been a little obsessive-compulsive about collecting the myriad of financial documents required for my HPAP application. As I mentioned in my previous HPAP post, there's a bit of a time commitment to getting all your ducks in a row before you apply. Because I've got a relatively uncomplicated income (I'm a salaried employee with no side contracts, I'm single and have no children, I have a reasonably responsible credit history) I'm lucky enough to write "N/A" next to half of the 22 required documents; that said, I still have a list of 11 pieces to pull together before my appointment to officially apply.

how i learned to stop worrying and love decluttering

I've moved across the eastern half of the country a couple of times now. When I was 18, I left North Carolina for Texas to attend college. Six years later, I moved from Louisiana to DC for graduate school. When I finished with my Master's in 2010, I trekked back to Texas for work, and then back east a few months later when my contract was up and I was yet again job hunting. Each time I've crossed multiple state lines in the pursuit of a life, I've learned to leave behind items when I go.

OMG, WTF is HPAP?

Here's something to know: buying a home in DC, at least as a first-timer, involves a lot of acronyms. Thankfully, I went to American University, where "acronym" is the national language. (MA 2010, SIS, IPCR, thankyouverymuch. And my grad assistantship involved coordinating CSLP for the CSC, now the CCES.) Over the course of a week I went to two "What to Expect When You're Expecting...to buy your first home" workshops, and they threw so many letters in our direction that I had to stop trying to write down the longhand name and instead just made a "things to Google later" list.

One of these programs is HPAP.

(i thought it was) over before it began

Today involved a minor moment of panic, in which I was pretty sure I'd have to give up the dream before even having my first official meeting. In preparation for my HPAP* loan application meeting I've been gathering financial documents left and right, and experiencing a pretty significant rollercoaster of emotions when, for instance, I thought I was going to have to battle Corporate Hell to get one of my W-2s (it was a similar battle four years ago when I needed them for filing, and a lesson I should have learned then) but then realized that I could file my 2011 taxes before the meeting and not have to worry about my 2008s. That kind of thing.

sticks and bricks

I've been wanting to buy my own home for years. My first year out of college, when I was living in the same city (but not the same house) as my mother, she would come by my office every Thursday to pick me up for our standing lunch date. En route to our go-to sushi restaurant, we'd always detour a bit through the neighborhood between the college where I worked and the strip mall where the restaurant lived. This neighborhood, bordered by a public golf course, the Knights of Columbus Hall (where I voted), and a busy commercial strip, was perpetually dotted with For Sale signs, and the bungalow homes were perfect daydream material for a broke-and-in-debt woman in her barely-20s.