Not sure if true, but funny…
Part of rebuilding New Orleans caused residents often to be challenged
> with
> the task of tracing home titles back potentially hundreds of years. With a
> community rich with history stretching back over two centuries, houses
> have
> been passed along through generations of family, sometimes making it quite
> difficult to establish ownership. Here’s a great letter an attorney wrote
> to
> the FHA on behalf of a client:
>
> You have to love this lawyer…
>
> A New Orleans lawyer sought an FHA loan for a client. He was told the loan
> would be granted if he could prove satisfactory title to a parcel of
> property being offered as collateral. The title to the property dated back
> to 1803, which took the lawyer three months to track down. After sending
> the
> information to the FHA, he received the following reply:
>
>
> (Actual reply from FHA):
>
>
> “Upon review of your letter adjoining your client’s loan application, we
> note the request is supported by an Abstract of Title.
> While we compliment the able manner in which you have prepared and
> presented
> the application, we must point out you have only cleared title to the
> proposed collateral property back to 1803. Before final approval can be
> accorded, it will be necessary to clear the title back to its origin.”
>
> Annoyed, the lawyer responded as follows:
>
>
> (Actual response):
>
> “Your letter regarding title in Case No.189156 has been received. I note
> you
> wish to have title extended further than the 206 years covered by the
> present application.
>
> I was unaware any educated person in this country, particularly those
> working in the property area, would not know Louisiana was purchased by
> the
> United States from France in 1803, the year of origin identified in our
> application. For the edification of uninformed FHA bureaucrats, the title
> to
> the land prior to U.S. ownership was obtained from France , which had
> acquired it by Right of Conquest from Spain . The land came into the
> possession of Spain by Right of Discovery made in the year
> 1492 by a sea captain named Christopher Columbus, who had been granted the
> privilege of seeking a new route to India by the Spanish monarch, Queen
> Isabella.
>
> The good Queen Isabella, being a pious woman and almost as careful about
> titles as the FHA, took the precaution of securing the blessing of the
> Pope
> before she sold her jewels to finance Columbus ‘S expedition. Now the
> Pope,
> as I’m sure you may know, is the emissary of Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
> and God, it is commonly accepted, created this world. Therefore, I believe
> it is safe to presume God also made the part of the world called Louisiana
> .
> God, therefore, would be the owner of origin and his origins date back to
> before the beginning of time, the world as we know it, and the FHA. I hope
> you find God’s original claim to be satisfactory. Now, may we have our
> loan?”
>
> The loan was immediately approved.Clearing Title