[StBernard] Louisiana Purchase

[Westley Annis]

I thought you Louisiana folks would like this one.
 
Rick
 
As most of you receiving this know, New Orleans residents are challenged 

often 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, 

making it quite difficult to establish ownership. 

 

Here's a great letter an attorney wrote to the FHA on behalf of a client 

that I thought was absolutely priceless!! 

 

You gotta love this lawyer....... it's too good not to share! 

 

Everyone who has ever bought a house will enjoy this. 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 letter): "Upon review of your letter adjoining your client's loan 

application, we note that 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 that 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 letter): 

 

"Your letter regarding title in Case No. 189156 has been received. I note 

that you wish to have title extended further than the 194 years covered by 

the present application. I was unaware that any educated person in this 

country, particularly those working in the property area, would not know 

that Louisiana was purchased, by the U.S., 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, 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 ' 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 that God also made that 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 damn loan?" 

 

The loan was approved.