The Truth About ACORN's House

Last week I blogged about an incident in which ACORN thugs broke into a house that had been foreclosed, claiming it as their own on behalf of the poor, abused, evicted former homeowner.  The media has been spinning the entire thing as a proud moment of standing up to the eeeeevil banks who callously kicked out a poor, helpwess wittle wady who just couldn't make her payments anymore, even though she desperately wanted to.

Now, how about the actual truth?

Michelle Malkin provides:

On Feb. 18, I warned about the ACORN civil disobedience mob working in ideological tandem with Barack Obama to bully Washington into passing a massive new foreclosure prevention/mortgage entitlement scheme. On Feb. 20, I noted that ACORN garnered nationwide media attention for breaking and entering into a foreclosed home in Baltimore at 315 South Ellwood Ave. ACORN vows to use "any means necessary" to stop foreclosures. Baltimore police have taken fingerprints at the break-in site and the current owner, William Lane, says he will sue ACORN. The home was sold in June 2008 for $192,000. This morning, ACORN official Louis Beverly will face a burglary charge. Look for the Left to turn him into a martyr.

It is not your home, ACORN.

Here is what the MSM won't be telling you about the so-called "victim" in that case, ACORN worker Donna Hanks — all based on public records and court documents.

According to real property data search information, Hanks bought the two-story home in the summer of 2001 for $87,000. At some point in the next five years, she re-financed the original home loan for $270,000.

Question: Where did all that money go?

The house initially went into foreclosure proceedings in the spring of 2006. In July 2006, Hanks filed for bankruptcy and agreed to a Chapter 13 plan which was served to the following creditors: Americas Servicing Co, Bank Of America, Chase, Covahey, Boozer, Devan & Dore, and Discover. She agreed to repay $10,500 in arrears, which resulted in a halt to the 2006 foreclosure.

In September 2006, the bankruptcy court ordered Hanks' employer to deduct $340/month from her salary as a bartender to pay down the debt (total net monthly take home pay of $1,228).

Hanks' Schedule I showed additional monthly income of $1,625 for a second and third claimed jobs, plus pro-rated tax refund income.

Hanks did not comply with the plan. In December 2007, the servicer issued a notice of default on nearly $7,000 past due.

In February 2008, Baltimore City Circuit Court records show a second foreclosure action was filed.

She had two years to pay what she owed. She failed to comply.

When she told local TV station WJZ that her evil bank raised her mortgage by $300 ("The mortgage went up $300 in one month"), she's talking about the amount in arrears that she agreed to pay back.

While she was reneging on her mortgage IOUS, she managed to collect rent on her basement (for which she was taken to court) and rack up a criminal record on charges of theft and second degree assault.

In the Huffington Post, ACORN's Bertha Lewis crowed about the nationwide MSM attention their Baltimore break-in received:

In Baltimore, ACORN member Donna Hanks re-took her home. Foreclosed on last fall, the house has stood empty since then, a stark reminder of the failure of the system. But Donna joined with 30 ACORN Home Defenders to liberate her home from the bank. Her act of civil disobedience was covered by 2 radio stations, 2 TV stations, the Baltimore Sun, and the Huffington Post.

Donna used bolt cutters to break the lock to the door and re-enter the home. Unfortunately, in the six short months since the home was seized, it has been extensively damaged, essentially partially gutted. The toilets are missing, and the upstairs ceiling is badly damaged. The greatest tragedy here is that Donna worked for months with ACORN sister organization ACORN Housing Corporation to try to get the bank to modify the loan so it could be affordable, but they refused, taking the home and now allowing it to be a haven for squatters and a target of looters.

Bullcrap. The house was sold seven months ago after two years of court-negotiated attempts to allow Hanks to dig herself out of her debt hole. The only squatter here is Donna Hanks. The only looters here are the ACORN racketeers. The foreclosure is not the criminal act.

And now you know…the rest of the story.

This episode perfectly encapsulates so many things.  ACORN -- the organization in which Obama grew his political wings -- is a bunch of thugs who rely on force and intimidation.  The media will cover for them.  Right is left, up is down, and everything is backwards.

Sadly, we can expect this sort of madness to continue and escalate in the coming months because Obama and his minions will not do anything significant to stop it.

There's my two cents.