Closing on a house...

So, it looks like we are finally going to close on a house... After much intense negotiation, it looks like the seller and us have finally been able to agree on a price.... The closing date will be October 12th, if everything goes well (and hopefully it will)... Patricia and I have signed the contract, but as far as we know, the seller has not signed it yet.

There are a lot of things to take care in preparation for the closing:

• Get everything straightened away with the lender (this involves signing tons of forms, and looking up papers from as far back as 2003)
• Getting hazard insurance (this involves calling insurance companies, and getting apples-to-apples quotes --- some of the companies will trick you by giving you a lower quote by changing the deductible, or by not including certain coverages)
• Get a home inspector to visit
• Get the home appraised

Right now, we are both pressed for time with a million things to do, and having to "prove" all sorts of things --- for example, Patricia has to prove that her degree relates to her job in some fashion... (It's apparently not enough to prove that she has an income, and that she is a full-time employee)...

With all the things that the lender pokes their nose into, I find I'm worried about the possibility of identity theft (especially because we shopped around for a lender)... and of course, I found it funny that one of the insurance companies said to me, "we can add identity theft to your coverage for a mere $10 a month, it covers up to $25,000"... I'm wondering --- don't my credit cards protect me from that already anyway? As far as I know, I just have to call the credit card companies and say, "Hey, I didn't do that!"...

In other news, the cat was in its cage (travel container) today. So far, we've found it: in its cage, in the chimney (fireplace), on top of the cabinets, behind some boxes, under the table, and behind the couch. I cleaned the litter this morning. Ick!