Mineral Rights (leases, house, buying)

[dfwrocket]

Hi, Mineral ownershiup is very complicated in Texas; You need to review every deed on the property. In Fort Worth that would be 1876 Forward. the work takes a few days and can be accomplished by hiring a Landman. If you need a good Landman Call Henry at 972-832-9805. He is a College student and performs this work for a fraction of what most Landmen charge. He was able to get me my information in less than a week.

[loves2read]

the reason Henry does it for a fraction of what other landmen charge is that Henry has no real experience--even reviewing deeds is not enough in some instances to determine ownership---

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by CzechGrazer

Does anyone know how you can tell if you own the mineral rights to the land your house sits on? With the Barnett Shale under Fort Worth (among other places), I'd think this is very timely. Would it be on the title? What is the usual protocol when buying a house in Fort Worth? Do mineral rights usually transfer over?

Thanks in advance!

The short answer is to read your deed very carefully. When bonus payments were out of control earlier, even the minerals under a .25 acre tract in a subdivision became fairly valuable and, as mentioned earlier, saavy property owners have been severing the minerals more often than not in the last few years. If you see anything like "this assignment is made subject to a prior mineral reservation" or "SAVE AND EXCEPT: all minerals in, on or under" you probably do not own the minerals. It isn't a secret and all of the ownership will be a matter of public record, its just a matter of knowing how to look.

Texas is very complicated and gets more complicated every year, but you can, completely on your own, piece together the ownership under your tract.

Also, Henry may be charging a fraction of what others would charge because he's starving. Loves2Read is right, though. You probably do not want an opinion from a college student (depending on your purposes, of course; just about any landman can tell you whether or not you own any minerals under your house, but you can find that out on your own).

[dfwrocket]

Originally Posted by loves2read

the reason Henry does it for a fraction of what other landmen charge is that Henry has no real experience--even reviewing deeds is not enough in some instances to determine ownership---

HENRY has 5 years experience with the review of all his work by a 38 year veteran in the business. Just for clarification. So his no real experience a false statement. He has worked for several Brokers and is now doing work in concert with very experienced Landmen. He knows about Civil Court, Probate, Commissioners Court and the like. Why Complicate an explanation. The Ownership of Minerals is Complex and Complicated. Of course if you want a Bonded Attorney's option (the only real one that counts 100 percent) he can get that for you as well; it will just cost the attorney's fees.

In Short the above statement that you can do this yourself is True, if you have the time it is a great experience to trace your own property. Just remember everyone that has owned your property could have died with the property or had a dispute settled in Civil Court. So if you run into a gap in Deeds start looking for a Court case or Probate of the last owner you show in the Deed Records. It is not Rocket science just something a 20 year old prelaw senior student with a 4.0 GPA enjoys. Enjoy the search.

[loves2read]

easy, Henry

[dfwrocket]

Hey no big deal. Professionalism and accuracy is a good thing. I hired Henry as I know his background, he is now starting a third generation of Landmen in his family and his Grandfather is very proud of him. My tract in Fort worth is 5.025 acres. He did a good job for me as the gas company is now sending me checks. When I saw the original question I just replied with my experience. I am not Henry, just a satisfied client. Had coffee with his Grandfather over the weekend and asked about his experience and the comments; thus my reply.

[DFW Home Luv]

You can have a oil/gas attorney, or title company with an accessible oil/gas attorney get an answer for you. That's probably the quickest way to go. They've always been a great help to my clients.

[javak]

We bought our home 4 years ago and we have the mineral rights . They paid us $12,000 plus a royalty when they start drilling natural gas . We have a half acre in Tarrant county .

[anthonysevey]

I have a question and would appreciate answer from someone whom may know the answer. I have a friend whom owns the mineral rights of property located in Texas. He is willing to sell me the mineral right s for 10K I would like to know what questions I need to ask before I secure these rights. My bigest concern of course is that there is enough profit to recover my intial investment ad make additional money. The owner is currently making $300 plus dollars a month for t he gas which is being accessed diaginally thru many properties. What do I ask to make sure I am making a good Decision/Purchase.

Please sends all emails to: [email]seveyaskj@aol.com[/email]

Sincerely,
HAPPY NEW YEAR

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by anthonysevey

I have a question and would appreciate answer from someone whom may know the answer. I have a friend whom owns the mineral rights of property located in Texas. He is willing to sell me the mineral right s for 10K I would like to know what questions I need to ask before I secure these rights. My bigest concern of course is that there is enough profit to recover my intial investment ad make additional money. The owner is currently making $300 plus dollars a month for t he gas which is being accessed diaginally thru many properties. What do I ask to make sure I am making a good Decision/Purchase.

Please sends all emails to: seveyaskj@aol.com

Sincerely,
HAPPY NEW YEAR

I wouldn't buy something that I didn't understand. His ad valorem taxes are probably more hassle than the royalties are worth, he's probably seeing his royalty payments diminish over time and there is probably a good reason for him preferring $10K to a small mineral interest in a gas unit.

I wouldn't do it. You can find better returns on your $10K in enterprises that you understand better. Here's one way of thinking about it: You have $10,000. At $300/month initial return, you have to wait about 10 quarters to recover your investment (assuming that the well attributable to this interest maintains royalties of $300/month, which isn't a given; it's almost a given that the royalties will steadily decline over that period). If you already have $10K, why would you give it away and hope that you will have it back in about 3 years so that you can start making $300/month with it? That doesn't sound right to me.