I received this email from a client who thought I might enjoy it. Aaaahhh she knows me far too well. [Heads up, it's a little long, but soooo worth it!]
Part of rebuilding New Orleans caused residents often to be
challenged with the task of tracing home titles back potentially hundredsof years. With a community rich with history stretching back over
twocenturies, 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:
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 ablemanner 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.
Boom. Roasted. Gotta love lawyer humor combined with stupid oversight.
