Topic: Real Estate......Enjoy the read

[mickyp]

 

Subject: REAL ESTATE IN LOUISIANA -

This is a real hum-dinger. Enjoy'


Rebuilding New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina often caused residents
to be challenged to prove home titles back hundreds of years.  That is
because of community history stretching back over two centuries during
which houses were passed along through generations of family,
sometimes making it quite difficult to establish a paper trail of
ownership.



A New Orleans lawyer sought a FHA rebuilding loan for a client.

 

He was told the loan would be granted upon submission of satisfactory

proof of ownership of the parcel of property as it was being offered
as collateral.  It took the lawyer 3 months, but he was able to prove
title to the property dating back to 1803. 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 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."

And here is the great letter the lawyer responded with:
(Actual response):

"Your letter regarding title in Case No.189156 has been received.  I
note that you wish to have proof of title extended further than the
206 years already covered in the present application.  I was unaware
that any educated person in this country, particularly those working
with real property, would not know that Louisiana was purchased by the
United States from France in 1803, the year of origin of title
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 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 reconstruction loan?"

The loan was immediately approved.

Not only is this one of the best e-mails, it is a great history lesson.
 

[Bob-A-Job]

Good afternoon

I am still chuckling over that, thank you.

BAJ

[jalfreziT]

It's a great story (who doesn't like to see the bureaucrats have their noses rubbed in it    )

Is it true? I don't think  so.

[bhamcurry]

It's a great story (who doesn't like to see the bureaucrats have their noses rubbed in it    )

Is it true? I don't think  so.

Federal Bureaucracy. I am not sure that I find it completely unbelievable....

[jalfreziT]

I did a bit more research and it seems variations of this same story have been doing the rounds since the 1930s.

The later internet variations change slightly depending on what