Christ First Forum

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.
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 that the request is supported by anAbstract 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 response):

"Your letter regarding title in Case No.189156 has been received. I note that you wish to have title extended further than the 206 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 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 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 loan?"


The loan was immediately approved. Chalk one up for the Lord.

My friend Dennis a former History teacher gave me a run down on The Louisiana purchase as I asked him about this.

And the reason why The French owned this land was because Spain sold it to them. The French were defeated in The French Indian war but to come back to buy some of America. Now this was a big problem having to go down the Mississippi for trade. Under Spain it was not bad. Under The French more restricted. Although this was not legal Jefferson sent out men to Napoleon about this purchase. If I remember well He offered five million. Napoleon said I’ll give it to you for double that. Jefferson took the deal. There is your Louisiana Purchase.

Who owns what land back from 1803? Don’t ask me. I know of no such. The oldest structures I seen was in Williamsburg Virginia Washington DC area some preserved places to see even a parade of patriotic times. But this is tourism it is the 21st century who do I care who owned what in 19th century? Let the past be past water under the bridge. This is a typical Lawyer after money or property. You can have it buddy. I feel blessed to have a roof over my head and to eat well and good in health. This is a pretty good house built in 1908 owned by Anna’s mother. Who owns it? She does. We got a problem with that. Nope not in the least. It’s what her Mom would have wanted anyways.

Carmela wrote:

Now the Pope, as I'm sure you may know, is the emissary of Jesus Christ, the Son of God

Well Carmella please know that this is the word of a lawyer and not me.
And you can tell just how agitated this lawyer was about how ridiculous the FHA was being in ownership to this property.

It sort of bothered me at first also. But I understood the point.