Home economics has an entirely different meaning for us as adults than it did back in high school. Instead of our learning to create marginally edible meals, we grown folks recognize that home economics today is all about using property ownership as a means to build wealth. "Home ownership is, indeed, one of the most powerful economic forces," says Stacey D. Stewart, president and CEO of the Fannie Mae Foundation in Washington, D.C. By owning, you not only will be living in an appreciable asset but can also enjoy tax savings that renters do not.

Too few African-American women, however, are taking full advantage of these benefits. Families headed by single sisters find the hurdles to buying especially high. According to the Fannie Mae Foundation, recent census data put the homeownership rate for Black female-headed households at about 37 percent--lower than the rate was during the depressed days before World War II.

And the rates for African-Americans as a group haven't moved much for decades. Eleven years ago, 42.7 percent of us owned our homes. In 2004 our rate was 49.5 percent, compared with 75.7 percent for Whites. Experts say that's why we're losing the war to close the wealth gap in this country. "It's inequality in property ownership. It's inequality in asset accumulation," Stewart explains. That leaves us behind in creating family wealth that can be passed from one generation to the next.

But there is good news on the horizon. Last year single women snapped up one of every five dwellings sold. Black women have been swept up in this tide. In Atlanta, for example, a third of new owners are unmarried sisters, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

And with African-American women controlling more than an estimated $403 billion in buying power, a great number of us are poised to turn our economic prowess and our role as household decision makers into an unprecedented push for property ownership.

You can join the movement. Be a part of the ESSENCE Home Ownership Campaign over the next 12 months. We've analyzed every phase of the buying process--from getting your finances in order and saving for the down payment to making an offer and going through closing. We've also partnered with the best and brightest--from personal-finance and credit-repair experts to real estate and mortgage professionals--to share their expertise and inside know-how (see page 173 for our advisory board). Go to essence.com and sign up to receive exclusive weekly reminders, simple checklists and links to the online resources you need, as well as free access to upcoming chats.

Now you'll meet three determined women and their families who will also go through our step-by-step guided program. We'll track their progress every month and, through their experiences, tell you what you need to know about the buying process. Let's get started!

ESSENCE HOME BUYER #1

The Single Mother

Name: Latisha Williams

Age: 28

Hometown: Toledo

Occupation: Placement specialist for a nonprofit agency

Income: $29,504

Challenge: Bouncing back from bankruptcy

Up until a few years ago, Latisha Williams and her daughter, Bridgett, 13. were living in a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment Toledo, But late one night. Williams's upstairs neighbor came knocking frantically at her door. The water tank containing 40 gallons of water inside his apartment had burst. They quickly dressed and ran outside. Minutes later there was only a caved-in ceiling and a flooded apartment with very little left to salvage. Luckily her renter's insurance covered most of the costs for cleaning and restoration, but Williams had to move in with her parents.

The savings on rent didn't make much of a dent in her other money problems. Credit cards, unpaid medical bills, bad business investments and a pending lawsuit from a department store for $3,300 in unpaid bills resulted in $18,000 worth of debt.

"I felt as if I were being backed into a corner," says Williams. "So last February 1 filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy."

This move slaved off creditors but ruined her credit rating and taught Williams a few hard-learned lessons. Now determined to be more money-smart, she diligently uses a budget sheet. "If I put change in a vending machine, I write it down," she says.

Williams uses only one credit card, which she pays in full each month to help boost her credit score. And for the first time in six years, she's got money saved in the bank. She also sells a line of handmade jewelry online to supplement her $29,504 salary. Her biggest dream: to finally, have a place that she and her daughter can call home.

ESSENCE HOME BUYER #2

The Married Mother

Name: Trenise Bullock; husband Norris Bullock

Ages: 34 and 36, Respectively

Hometown: Brooklyn

Occupation: She's a hospital clerk; he's a bus driver

Income: $90,000

Challenge: To keep from buying more house than they can afford

Trenise Bullock has come back from the brink of financial ruin and is laying the groundwork for a financial triumph: owning her first home. Eleven years ago the Brooklyn native faced nearly $10,000 in credit-card bills and couldn't even make the minimum payments, She had lost her job and had no idea how she would pay down that debt, Engaged, she also didn't want money woes to hurt her marriage, so she filed for bankruptcy. She was determined, she says, to start her marriage "with a clean slate."