Family celebrates mortgage payoff
Voice Correspondent
McDONOUGH COUNTY The owners of the first home built by the McDonough County chapter of Habitat for Humanity were recognized on Thursday morning for being the first to pay off their home.
Nancy and Perry Sinnett received the first home in McDonough County and are also the first to completely pay off their home after 24 years of living in the location.
Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Keith Branham said that one of the most impressive things about the Sinnetts was their ability to pay off the home so quickly, saying that they paid like clockwork on the road to paying off the home.
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Keith Branham, Executive Director of the Habitat chapter, said, “I think that’s a fabulous success story for Habitat and for you. This is what we’re about – helping people who can help themselves. The model is not a handout but a hand-up.”
Branham said the Habitat chapter typically does 30-year mortgages with zero interest payments. The Sinnetts paid it off in 24 years.
The couple emphasized that their home was not free. The Sinnetts and their friends helped with construction of the home, something that’s required by Habitat.
Nancy Sinnett said, “People don’t know that you do put in 500 hours of sweat. That includes your friends and other people. That’s not easy to get done when you’re working (a job too).”