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I BOUGHT THE FIRST MINERAL RITES TO GO TO TAX SALE IN 30 YEARS IN W.A.. i FOUND OUT LATER IT WAS A CHAIN OF CAMAND MESS UP,"THE RITE PERSON NEVER GOT THE LETTERS THE COUNTY WAS SENDING"THEY SRE ALL FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES,WHAT WOULD BE THE BEST WAY TO GO ABOUT SELLING THEM BACK TO THESE COMPANIES OR ANYBODY ELSE FOR THAT MATTER,THANKS JASON SPOKANE W.A.
I BOUGHT THE MINERAL RITES TO THREE FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES AT A TAX SALE,THEY WERE THE FIRST TO GO TO TAX SALE IN 30 PLUS YEARS IT WAS I FOUND OUT A 'chain of comand mess up"how do i go about selling them back to these companies,thanks jason spokane W.A.
First of all, we are talking about "rights" as in right to use, to transfer, to develop, to exploit, etc. They are not "rites" which is a ceremony. There are Scottish Rites, there are last rites, a marriage ceremony is a "rite." What the groom and bride do that night is a "right."
This being the case, and you are talking about a very complex case, you need to talk to an attorney familiar with both the petroleum industry and with partial rights. When you bought the rights from the taxing authority you bought the rights owned by the tax payer. There very well may be other rights holders involved, and to get sole possession of those rights may require a quiet title suit. If the fortune 500 companies own rights other than those sold by the taxman, then your next step is to get those identified. Once they are identified, you can decide the next step....development, sale, transfer, donation, etc........
I've been asking a similar question in the other forums, hope it's ok to ask it here . . .
We got our preliminary title report and trying to figure out if it's ok. The lender is getting the report -- is it usually enough if they're satisfied? Fwiw, our realtor thought it looked normal too.
The unusual (to me) parts of the report include:
-The Legal Description excludes an "undivided 1/2 interest of all minerals, oil, gas," etc as reserved by a 1946 deed.
-Legal Description also says the "Surface and Subsurface Rights to a depth of 500 feet below the surface" were quitclaimed in 1968.
This is a small college town amidst farmland outside of Sacramento. That whole part of town was owned by the farmer who reserved the mineral rights so we think everyone has that in their title.
The second part re the surface area is more confusing to me -- how can we own the house, landscaping etc if we don't own the surface area? The quitclaim deed looks like it was done the year before the house and subdivision were built. Doesn't say who it was quitclaimed to.
I would like to keep the mineral rights to farm property we own in Iowa, how would I find out if they are already ours or many times a railroad bought the original rights to a lot of us land?
The answer to the OP is not as complicated as it might seem. Dr. Jones is basically right. The seller can price his interests in the property -- surface estate and mineral estate -- separately. The fact that it is more expensive to buy both should not be a surprise and is nothing to take offense at.
The issue about the superiority of the mineral estate is also simple, and it is much much better to be in a situation where your seller wants to retain the minerals than where someone else already owns them, which is extremely common in Texas. If all you are concerned about is protecting your house and property (i.e. not allowing someone put up a drilling rig, or whatever), you simply let the seller retain the minerals, but have them sign a waiver of their rights to use the surface of the property. This allows the seller to get royalties or bonuses or whatever from a big oil company that might come into the area, but it prohibits that big oil company from drilling on, or even entering onto, your property. (They can easily drill diagonally from off-site, and the surface waiver will typically allow this.) This is very common. But it needs to be done correctly. A lawyer is recommended.
Some Texas cities, such as Houston, have a drilling ordinance that prevents drilling for oil within the city limits, with certain exceptions. This makes the surface waiver less important in those cases. Knowledge of local law is required for that.
Your ownership of the minerals under your property, or lack thereof, almost surely has no bearing on whether you would have the right to vote on whether to permit an oil rig on a park or other homeowners association property. You get that right because you are a homeowner, not because you are a mineral owner.
There is some small chance that not having the mineral rights on your 1/4 acre could impact the marketability of your home in the future, but unless something extremely drastic happens (e.g. gas goes to $20 per gallon), those rights simply are not very valuable.
As has been said, oil and gas are contained in pools underground. If your neighbor's land is over the same pool that yours is, he has every right to stick a big straw down there and suck up all "your" oil. Your only right is to starting sucking on your straw and get as much as you can. So in the end, the big oil companies don't really need your 1/4 acre. Sure, it makes their lives a tiny bit easier (since they don't have to worry about you leasing to their competitor -- but really, you're not going to do that unless that competitor can drill from some other location, in which case your rights probably won't be all that valuable to the competitor, either), but it's not going to be the golden egg for you, as the proeprty owner.
It would be a different story if the lot in question was significantly larger, but for 1/4 acre, I wouldn't let it keep me from getting what I really want -- the house.
I would like to keep the mineral rights to farm property we own in Iowa, how would I find out if they are already ours or many times a railroad bought the original rights to a lot of us land?
Title records. Check your title policy from when the land was purchased. It should have an exception for minerals if someone else owns them.
-Legal Description also says the "Surface and Subsurface Rights to a depth of 500 feet below the surface" were quitclaimed in 1968.
Quote:
Originally Posted by christeen
The second part re the surface area is more confusing to me -- how can we own the house, landscaping etc if we don't own the surface area? The quitclaim deed looks like it was done the year before the house and subdivision were built. Doesn't say who it was quitclaimed to.
You need to ask the title company to explain it. It would not be normal to own the house and not own the surface, so something else is going on. Perhaps the quitclaim deed was given by someone who didn't even own the property. All a quitclaim deed is saying is "I'm not saying I own it, but whatever I do own, I hereby give to you." So this may represent somewhat of a cloud on title, from the standpoint that the grantee of the quitclaim could come out later and try to enforce his deed.
This is very important, and if you can't get a satisfactory answer from the title company (and/or the developer), it is very risky. I would not accept a title policy with such an exception on it unless I understood very well what it meant.
I am selling my home in Fort Worth and I'd like to put my two cents in.
Yes, you would expect to get the roof with your house, and usually the appliances, but not always removable items like a satellite dish.
When we decided to sell our house we remodeled the kitchen adding custom cabinetry and granite countertops. This added value to our house, was reflected in the latest appraisal and therefore in our selling price.
As a bonus we are leaving the appliances, the antique mirrors attached to the walls, and the rolling kitchen cart that matches the cabinets. We are not leaving the satellite dish. We wanted to keep our mineral rights, but are now including them as an incentive.
My point is this: Like appliances, mineral rights are optional, add value, and are therefore negotiable.
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Mineral Rites,
