When Lorane McIver closed on her Habitat Greensboro home on August 10, 2010, she never thought she would pay off her home in just 12 years. However, that’s exactly what she did this past year!

Lorane shared that when she purchased her home, she was just 24 years of age and a single parent to Malik, then 5-years-old. Says Lorane, “There were days that I would sit on my porch, and tears would just fall down my face because I never thought I would own my own home at 24.”

Over the last 12 years, Lorane worked hard to secure a stable future for her children. She shared that she would round up her payments each month. When tax returns came, she paid more on her mortgage. And, when she would receive bonuses at work, half would go towards the mortgage, and she would use the other half to “spoil” her children.

When the letter came in the mail that she had paid off her mortgage, Lorane found herself once again sitting on the front porch crying. When Malik (now 16-years-old) came home from school and asked his mother what was wrong, she showed him the pay-off statement. He exclaimed, “Are you serious? Are you serious? This is ours? We have got to go celebrate!” When his 10-year-old brother Xavier arrived home, he shared the news and stated, “Now we will always have somewhere to go.”

That’s what a Habitat home means for a family – always having somewhere to go, for children to know the stability that only a home can bring.

Habitat Greensboro made it easier for Lorane to buy a home and provide her children with stability. By working in partnership with homeowners, Habitat Greensboro provides low-income households with a path to homeownership. For more information on Habitat Greensboro’s homeownership program, please visit https://habitatgreensboro.org/homeownership/.