There are groups in my neighborhood forming get a better deal leasing their mineral rights to oil and gas companies. But, I am not sure if we own the rights for our property. How can I find out? Thanks, E.
I was convinced that I did not have the rights to my property as well. I kept telling those folks that but they told me that they do all the leg work researching and onloy approach homeowners that do. So if you are being contacted then you do. Congratulations.
Ditto on what the others said. My personal experience though is that you do not want to give up those rights. In the home I grew up in they came and did seismic testing in the neighborhood. It cracked the foundations and we were told there was nothing we could do because we did not own the mineral rights. My sister worked for a realtor and the woman WOULD NOT SIGN any of the homes in that area. They want to do the seismic testing at my house I now own and I won't sign the waiver (of course!) but I can't tell them NO because we don't have the rights to our minerals. If you do lease your minerals you may not have any say either!
And for those of you who get contacted for seismic testing, do not sign the waver, because you will have no legal recourse if they dammage your property!
S.
Check your deed, & if it isn't referenced, go to the county clerk's office & look up your property (you can ask for help). If there was a mineral lease it will have been recorded.
Through the county clerk records of the particular county. It should state on your paperwork from when bought the property if the original owner sold you the minerals or retained them for themselves. Also, be aware that even if you do own the minerals you may not own all of them. You would have to do a full title search to find that out. It's basically just tracing the ownership back through the county clerks records. But, also if someone wants to lease your property they will do the search for you just to protect their ownself. Good Luck
You can contact a Professional Landman also. They are basically oil and gas leasing specialists (though not lawyers). My husband is one. Unfortunately, these days it is not very likely that you would get the minerals with a purchase of land or home. Many people are retaining their "mineral rights" when they sell property. However, if surface land that you own is disturbed many oil companies will pay you for damages. It is not required that they do so, though. The minerals under the surface are deemed more important than the surface property. So this is basically a courtesy the company offers to keep people happy. You should have the minerals specified some where in your deed. Or go to the County Clerks office for your county.
Any information like that should be listed on your deed or the abstracts. If you do not have a copy of them then you can get one at your county courthouse.
First of all, I'm a Realtor, and I'm on the committee for my neighborhood to negotiate a better deal with the offers we have been receiving on Mineral Leases. That being said, there are many factors to consider here. One would be, when did you purchase your house? If it was more than a few years ago, chances are that when you purchased it, the mineral rights were transferred to you when you signed the documents at the Title company.. UNLESS IT WAS STATED OTHERWISE IN THE LISTING AND IN THE CONTRACT. There is a section in the Sales Contract that is called "Special Provisions". Unless it was specifically stated there that "Mineral Rights do not convey" or some similar language, then you should have them. Check your closing documents and contract, if you have them. Also, if you have a copy of your Deed, and it doesn't state otherwise, then you have them. For instance, we purchased our home about 4 1/2 yrs. ago and no where did it say that Mineral Rights DO NOT convey. It is also not in our deed, so they are ours (yee-haw!!). Unfortunately, you can't assume that you have mineral rights just because you are receiving offers in the mail from Leasing Companies! They companies should have done their due diligence in researching this prior to sending out offers, but they don't always! Now, if you have bought very recently, it is very likely that you don't have them. Retaining Mineral Rights is a trendy thing lately. It is hard to buy a house these days and to get the rights to Minerals in the sale. It does happen, but not frequently.
On another note, if you do have them.. hold out for a better deal and encourage others to as well! I'm not sure where you live, but our original offer was a $3,000 signing bonus per acre, and we are up to $10-12,000.. and still negotiating! There's much more to a good lease than a signing bonus though, but I'm sure whomever is in charge of that will find the best terms for everyone!
I hope that helps and wasn't too confusing! :) Let me know if you have any other questions!
T.
We have just gotten a letter from our HOA as well saying they want to all get together on the same issue. Please let me know what you find out.
Thanks!
When you bought your property your title company sent you title insurance look in the fine print,its in there .If you do not have it call the Title Co. Most folks do not have mineral rights any more,but it is worth checking out.
