How HōMI works
200+ signals. 3 dimensions. 1 score. Here is exactly how we get from your answers to an honest verdict — no trade secrets, just the shape of the method.
Assess
Answer honest questions across Financial Reality, Emotional Truth, and Perfect Timing. Sliders, not essays. Ninety seconds for the shadow version, longer for the full picture.
Verdict
HōMI weighs all three pillars equally and checks for hard-stops — conditions that override the math entirely because they're not safe to build on top of.
Build
Every verdict below READY comes with a map: the specific, ordered things to build first. Not yet is a starting line, not a wall.
Inside the three pillars
We don’t publish exact point values or weights — those are the trade secret. What we will tell you is exactly what each pillar looks at and why it matters.
Financial Reality
Can you afford it?Debt-to-income
How much of your gross income already goes to debt. Lower ratios mean more room to absorb a mortgage payment without strain.
Down payment
What you've saved toward the purchase relative to the price. More down means smaller loans, smaller payments, and more equity from day one.
Emergency fund
Months of living expenses set aside beyond the purchase itself. Owning something means owning the surprises that come with it.
Credit and stability
Your credit health and the consistency of your financial history. This shapes the rate you'll actually be offered.
Emotional Truth
Do you really want it?Confidence
How sure you are about this decision, independent of the numbers. Confidence built on evidence differs from confidence built on hope.
Alignment
Whether you and anyone else involved — a partner, a family — are actually pointed the same direction. Misalignment shows up later if it isn't named now.
Pressure
External pressure — a deadline, a listing, a friend's timeline — pushing you toward a decision faster than your own conviction would.
Life stability
How steady the rest of your life is right now: work, health, relationships. Big decisions land differently depending on what else is in motion.
Perfect Timing
Is now the right moment?Horizon
How far out you're planning to move. A longer runway gives the other two pillars time to catch up.
Savings rate
How much of your income you're currently setting aside. This is the clearest signal of whether the trend is moving toward readiness or away from it.
Progress
How close you are to your own goal, not someone else's. Momentum matters as much as the current total.
Red lines that protect you
Some conditions aren’t a matter of degree. When any of these are true, the verdict is forced to NOT YET regardless of the numeric score. This is a protection signal, not a punishment.
Debt-to-income above 50%
Almost no margin left to absorb a new payment without strain.
Housing cost above 45% of income
The line where one bad month turns into a crisis.
Less than one month of runway
Owning a home means owning its surprises. You need a cushion first.
Credit under 620
Lenders price this as high-risk. The interest cost alone could undo the purchase.
The verdict tiers
80 – 100
All three rings align. Your compass becomes a key.
65 – 79
You’ve nearly cooled down. One or two things first.
50 – 64
Build First is not failure. It is the map.
Below 50
Not yet is not no. It is clarity. It is protection.