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Okay, so DH's grandfather bought mineral rights to a piece of land back in the late 1800s (in Braxton County). We have the deed, and that's the extend of our knowledge about the property. All I know is that every year we get a tax bill, and last year the bill jumped dramatically. DH got in touch with someone (??) and the bill was significantly lowered. But that still brings us back to our original question, why do we bother to continue paying taxes (in the hundreds) every year, and is anybody ever going to mine there? And if we wanted to sale, how the heck would we even go about doing that? According to (some random lady; I don't remember who she's associated with) we have a fairly decent vein. But what does that mean, and how could we even find someone interested in buying???
The law exists to make you fustrated. Several years ago Preston County farmers were going bankrupt..decided to mine the coal just a few feet under their dirt and 'Wa-la..instant millionaries.
Asessors got the drift and legislation was passed to tax this resource...taxation was unbearable to the farmers who were not selling their coal, making it possible for sleazebags to come forth at the tax sales to buy these mineral rights.
Now we have a local moratorium in process to hinder development and keep the farmlands pristine.
(But the owner pays the taxes..always has been that way.)
This coal of yours may have a potential value, but in the ground it is worthless.
The normal price paid to owners is $2.00 per ton and about 10,000 tons per acre is the average yeild from an 8' seam.
But another nightmare exists on the near horizion. The Obama Plan to destroy the coal industry.
Everyone is waiting, a Senator told me a few days ago that they (the legislature) did not know what to expect) He said, "Dave, this is my Party and they want to kill us...I may just retire and leave here."
If this happens, you will own a Mineral Right that has no actual value, but is taxed heavily.
You can keep it and continue paying the taxes,
try to find a buyer (lol),
let it go at the tax sale to some cheap scumbag scavenger,
or by some magical coincidence, find someone who can mine it while it can be mined....
(and permits to mine must be granted by the Obama Administration, something that they have in review (closed off)
Keep paying the mineral taxes on this and wait...that's my advice...Obama won't be here that long.
And this mineral will be worth hundreds of thousands if the lease is done correctly.
wellhead pressure of 200,000 lbs? I have a well now that is under consideration for re-drilling.
The very best head pressure is 45/60 lbs on a good day...is remeadial with the royalties too.
That could change significantly with re-drilling. The catch is the lease...
these new leases cut out the present day owner at death...how wonderful...
Granddad had the old lease, bequeathed usage to his heirs, and assigns and this we will preserve.
The other owners (gas company) jumped stifflegged when I hooked up to the well for domestic use...said no one had personal rights to the well head gas...My copy of the lease said different.
I threathened to lease to another company and they got quiet in a hurry...the others ( a local lawyer) would take everything is someone let them...
Best Mineral Rights Lawyer? (before you PM me)....Jake Kessler out of Wheeling...a State Senator and a gunslinger in the court room...
Very interesting points. Thanks for responding. I went back and looked at the deed, and unfortunately natural rights are not included.
The only reason we won our appeal on reducing our taxes is b/c we showed that there wasn’t anyone mining in like a 5-mile radius. Apparently once a mining company is in your area, your taxes go up astronomically. So how do you find out if a company is in the area? I read on an older thread that mining companies schedule this stuff years out. Surely there has to be a way to find out if our area is on ANYONES radar?
From DH’s point of view his family has been holding onto this for well over a hundred years, and he doesn’t want to keep paying taxes on something for another 100+years.
Why not let the heirs chip-in and pay their fair share of these taxes...when the windfall happens they will be pounding on the door wanting their check...
Depending on where the land is and what it is like, there may be a lot of people who would be interested in buying your property - especially since it has the mineral rights. I know a lot of people who are paying -0- (zero) in heating bills because they own the mineral rights and the gas company has drilled on their land.
I was in the courthouse last month...every Deed in Every Deed Book was being searched for these treasures...a staff of people were set up in the hallway with tables to search these parcels...they belonged to the out of state drilling companies....
That reminds me of the story in Marion County about 10 years ago..the County Commission ordered the old books from 1863 to 1925 sent to the landfill as trash...
Someone sued them instantly and they had to recover them from the trash...got some of them back..
kept that one quiet...lol
Mineral rights almost definitely include the natural gas rights. Chesapeake Energy has been leasing Marcellus Shale natural gas rights in the Northern Panhandle during the past year. Most of West Virginia (Cabell and Wayne counties excepted) are sitting on top of this gold mine. I leased my 1/12 interest in 45 acres of rights to them for five years for several thousand dollars.
"We leased 1/7 of the family farm once we realized that my deceased father and mother never willed the mineral rights to anyone. As an heir, one of 7, I assume we will have to pay taxes on the money received from the lease even though we inherited the mineral rights. Correct?"
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