Veteran receives ultimate gift

Imagine being able to give the gift a mortgage-free home. This veteran received just that

Just last week, America paid tribute to the people who sacrifice their lives for their country. This week one great American was given the gift of a mortgage-free home.

Maria Hechebarria is single a mother of two who serves at the Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan. She commutes about an hour-and-a-half each day from her home in Toledo.

To allow her to avoid the tiring trek, a number of organizations partnered together, renovated a home 1,137 square foot home – which had been donated by Chase Bank – and gifted it to Hechebarria, mortgage-free, according to local Michigan publication, Press and Guide.

Hechebarria received the news while attending a Detroit Pistons game.

“I had a fit,” Hechabarria told the Press and Guide. “I was running around and couldn't do anything else but praise the Lord.”

National Faith Homebuyers, a non-profit that focuses on providing families with financial independence, teamed up with Wayne County Veteran Services and the Detroit Piston Hoops for Troops to make the gift happen.

“This home was in really bad disrepair,” Keisha Sanders-Hajdu, CEO of National Faith Homebuyer, told the Press and Guide. “One developer on a literally shoe-string National Faith budget took this home from being uninhabitable to what we see today — which is beautiful.”

The gift was part of a larger initiative that focuses on improving the lives of veterans.

“We continue to seek ways to improve the lives of those that have sacrificed everything for this country and homeownership is very important in the lives of our veterans,” Dina Harris, president of National Faith Homebuyers, told the Press and Guide.

The first thing Hechebarria plans to do in her new home is have a family Thanksgiving dinner.