On other hand, there’s also pleasure of participating in American dream of owning your own home. No more having to be quiet because other tenants might complain. No more having to fight for a parking spot nearby. No more dealing with landlords.

The advantages of home ownership are both personal and financial. On personal side, there’s very real pleasure of being master of your castle. You can put a nail in wall to hang a picture without worrying that you might not get all of your cleaning deposit back. In short, there’s a kind of freedom that comes with home ownership that tenants never get to experience.

In addition, there are financial rewards. You get to deduct (in most cases) all your mortgage interest and your taxes. When you sell, you can often defer your gain from immediate taxation by rolling it over into a more expensive home. And when you reach age of 55, you may be eligible for a big “gift” from Uncle Sam — you may not have to pay taxes on up to $125,000 of profit on sale of you home. If you have an office at home, you may even be able to take a deduction for it.

With Christmas just weeks away, one might wonder if American dream of a family owning its own home could become a reality by Christmas day. Is it still possible to buy, close and move into a new home by Christmas, and if so, how does one prepare to make dream come true?

Most developers surveyed in Dade and Broward County area unequivocally agreed that it is not only possible to move into a new home by Christmas, but feat has been accomplished many times.

It borders on a myth that home owners always experience a two- to three-month wait on a new home closing. The developers questioned reported that a mortgage can be arranged, approved, and property inspected in less than two weeks. Most developers have finished homes which are ready for immediate occupancy as soon as loan is approved.