Ensley becomes first recipient to pay off a habitat mortgage
By Mollie Allen
mollie@thenewsobserver.com
Gloria Ensley can now say with pride that she is the first recipient of a home built by Habitat for Humanity of Fannin and Gilmer to completely pay off her mortgage.
The home is located in Mineral Bluff and was completed in 2005, which put her mortgage maturity date at 2025.
Due to a substantial amount of money that came her way, she was able to pay off the home in full, four years early.
“The first thing she wanted to do (when she received the funds) was pay off her home, which is the most unique thing anyone would’ve thought to do when you’re rocking a zero-interest mortgage,” habitat Executive Director Christopher Hall said of Ensley. “She is truly a one-of-a-kind individual.”
Hall added that she always sent in “thank you” notes with her mortgage payments, which was financed in house through the organization.
The road to being selected for a home included a few roadblocks, however, as Ensley applied for a habitat home three times before she was finally approved.
“I’d go off, and I’d cry because I didn’t get it, but that was because somebody needed it worse than I did,” Ensley said.
Her journey with the organization began in 1997 after hearing about the program from a friend.
It was from there that she dedicated 250 hours of volunteering to the organization.
“The first house (habitat home) that I’d seen built was in Cleveland, Georgia, and I never seen so many people that come to help this little woman to get her house built. They had it framed up in one day. I was impressed. I just went down to my knees, I cried because that was very wonderful because she had three children.”
Around that time, Ensley worked for Evenflo, a manufacturer of products for infants and children, until the company moved their operations overseas.
As a result, Ensley had to pick up two new jobs to keep a comparable income, her daughter, Ericia Almond said.
In order to be considered for a habitat home, several factors are considered: credit, income, willingness to work on it or sweat equity, support from others and other factors.
“A lot of people think that they give you a home, but it’s not given,” Ensley said.
Of the sweat equity, Ensley said, “It’s wonderful because we all work together. ... We’re just one big, happy family. They built me up too. I was just kind of down and out and everything.”
Furthermore, the home allowed Ensley a stable and safe place to raise her two daughters, Almond and Jessica Green.
“There’s a lot of people that I want to remember that’s passed on” that were instrumental in her process, Ensley added.
Those individuals include Eddy White, former habitat president and later executive director, Shirley Heck, original habitat ReStore manager, and Mike Turner.