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 the 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
loan?"