How can I change my "Home directory" folder name?

Hello, everyone.
I was given a pre-owned MacBook Pro that's running OS 10.6.8. How can I change the name on the Home directory folder? I was able to change the Administrator Account settings, but the Home directory still shows the previous owner's name. It bothers me a bit, though, to see the previous owner's name still come up on the Home folder.
I came across the instruction listed below, but I can't get past step 4. It instructs me "rename it just like I would rename any folder." I can't seem to rename it, though. The cursor doesn't come up when I click on the folder name.
For Mac OS X v10.5 or later
Enable the root user.
Log in as root.
Navigate to the /Users folder.
Select the Home folder with the short name you want to change, and rename it just like you would rename any folder. Keep in mind that the shortname must be all lowercase, with no spaces, and only contain letters.
Use the Users & Groups pane (Accounts pane in Mac OS X v10.6.8 or earlier) in System Preferences to create a new user with the Account name or Short Name that you used in the previous step.
Click OK when "A folder in the Users folder already has the name 'account name'. Would you like to use that folder as the Home folder for this user account?" appears. Note: This will correct the ownership of all files in the Home folder, and avoid permissions issues with the contents.
Choose Log Out from the Apple menu.
Log in as the newly created user. You should be able to access all of your original files (on the desktop, in Documents, and in the other folders of this Home).
After verifying that your data is as expected, you can delete the original user account via the Users & Groups pane (Accounts pane in Mac OS X v10.6.8 or earlier).
Disable the root user.
Any help would be much appreciated.

Hi everyone,
I followed this https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3872
and got to the stage of having renamed my Home folder with the new name but the Home folder is STILL designated to the old name?
When I try and create a new user with the new name, I don't get asked if I'd like to use the existing name as Home folder, I get told I can't use the newname because it exists already - thats the end of it - no further options.
So to clarify - I now have oldname folder STILL assigned as Home folder. A newname folder with all my stuff in - apps, desktop, etc etc but this is just another user folder.
Interestingly at login stage, the oldname folder isn't an option. I think I've confused the system somewhere by titling things differently at some stage in an attempt to rename Home folder.
I'm running Mountain Lion (as of yesterday) and because I've kinda lost the use of my User folder as the Home folder, can't get to my Time Machine. I'm in trouble but I'm trying not to panic. Would appreciate any help!
Laurie

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