Hi I just received a contract from Antero wanting to lease or buy the mineral rights to land I never knew I even had! How do I know if I’m getting a decent offer or not?
You need more information before thinking about leasing or sale. Contact Antero and ask for their source of information such as a copy of the deed or probate granting ownership. You might find additional ownership not addressed in the contact offer. A possible second source of information might be the Tyler County Tax Office.
Good luck.
I have the deed book number and page number. That was filed with the County Commissioners Office in Tyler County. Will that help?
Gary. After a few months of haggling with Antero, I just signed a new 5-year contract with them. My tract of land in that area is pretty small and I have a boatload of relatives and others who are owners as well. Do you have any relatives you are aware of that would also be part of this lease? If you have good relations with ANYONE who may own rights ask them if they too got a lease offer… that is ONE option. I can tell you right now (or at least this is what happened to me), ANTERO WILL TELL YOU THEY ARE UNDER STRICT ORDERS NOT TO RELEASE ANY INFORMATION REGARDING ANY OFFERS OR DEALS MADE with any other owners. I fought that as much as I could, but my land guy kept saying it was against “company policy” to reveal any offers. That’s a CROC!!! at least in my mind. THEY and most other companies will only reveal to you WHO has signed, or who has been contacted. Unfortunately, I am not on speaking terms with my immediate family members on my leases, but with my experience now, I DID manage to HAGGLE for a bit more money and a bit more in royalties for myself, whereas the two relatives who I see signed as well, SETTLED for the first offer Antero made. Don’t be afraid to do this. I was not 100% thrilled with the final offer, but after realizing how SMALL my parcel in that area was, I thought I did pretty good with getting a little more. I received a TON of good advice on this website, but you have to educate yourself. If you own a lot of land and rights, by ALL MEANS… hire an attorney to negotiate for you. Several on here have done this and are very happy with what they were offered. I’ll share my experience. Antero did not offer to buy my share, just lease. Another company DID know how discouraged I was at first with Antero, and made me an offer with a quitclaim for around $4,000. The first lease offer came in at a $200 sign-on bonus and 12.5% in royalties. That is pretty much standard offerings. Please bear in mind that you will also have to pay TAXES on your royalties… in my case it is per Tyler County. Oftentimes what you pay in taxes could be more than what you receive in royalties… THIS is what is happening to me, which is discouraging but I still feel blessed I inherited these interests through my mother. It’s a little bit of extra income that helps now that I am retired and living on a pension… and by the way… that money is also TAXED!!! I was told to try and get that negotiated in my lease… meaning have the company agree to pay those taxes… good luck with that!! So… check out EVERY DETAIL you can about how much you own and how many own with you as well… that is your bargaining chip. I really wanted to sell, but was encouraged to NOT sell from folks on this site, as those wells at some point may be producing big time??? Production is way down right now. I just got a royalty check a few weeks ago from my other company… that is the first money I have seen in MONTHS! Very surprised Antero is going ahead with leases knowing how slow things are? That should “suggest” they are on to something??? Depending on the state you are dealing with, you can go to THEIR website and SEE those who have signed leases if you have any clue who they are. I negotiated a bit more than the original offer… not much but better than what others settled for. There are at least TWO good attorneys here on this site, and a female who GIVES VERY GOOD ADVICE!! Don’t settle for anything less than 12.5%… I got bumped up a few more decimals.
Yeah my brother got one too. And I don’t think it’s very big either. But they offered a $200 sign-on bonus or $400 to buy outright. Now from what I have seen that area and West Virginia all together are putting out some gas. We were first sent just a letter telling us about it and we both just let it go then last week we got a lease contract and everything. Do like you said production is way down and they are pretty admit about getting it lol.
I am currently going through this same thing. I was contacted last week and Antero wants me to sign by Oct 1. I only own mineral rights (through my grandmother) for a 15-acre tract in Tyler County. The paperwork says that I own 0.0057… So it’s small. What is a good offer for these mineral rights? I want to negotiate with Antero, because from what I’ve read it should be worth way more than they offered.
Yeah I don’t think ours is very big either. It says 35 acres gross but like 0.0016 or something. lol But just the way they kept contacting us makes me think is all. We were first approached by a female landman about a month and a half ago and we just kinda left it go then next thing we know they’re sending us contracts for leasing the mineral rights or selling outright. So it makes one think that they really want or need that little piece of land lol. And if we can get a little bit more out of it then why not try. We didn’t even know it existed two months ago not like we’re going in the hole from it. Lol. Lewis huh I still have family in West Virginia with the last name of Lewis. I believe in Salem and maybe Clarksburg? Haven’t talked to them in a few years.
Would you please tell me where it is in Tyler County that Antero is making offers?
Gary,
That’s how I feel—why not get as much as you can? I don’t know anyone who has too much money 
. It seems so shady to me. I talked to the land man again yesterday and he tells me that if they have to go to court, they will. And if that happens then I will only get $9. Well if that’s the case then why is Antero offering me so much more? Then he tells me that they already have 75% of the necessary signatures needed to proceed. So I’m thinking, again why are you bothering me then? He said that he needed to have the contract signed by yesterday. Well yesterday he says don’t worry about it because my boss is out of town until Monday so he actually doesn’t need it until then 
. I’m so confused. If my ownership is so minuscule and they already have the necessary signatures then why not proceed without me? He really acts like he’s doing me a favor or something. I did find out the street name and the actual land owner’s name but I really don’t even know how to proceed at this point. On one hand he’s like we don’t need your approval and on the other hand he’s like SIGN HERE??? What are you gonna do Gary? Are you gonna sign? Have you gotten any suggestions? Any advice for me? The land man told me there’s no room for negotiation. They offered $500 for me and each of my siblings and 15% royalties. Royalties he said would only be pennies?
Gary,
Lewis is my married name. I’m originally from East Liverpool, Ohio. But my grandmother’s maiden name was Belleville; they are from Sistersville, West Virginia. But I never knew any of them. The mineral rights in question are in Middleburg, West Virginia.
And I haven’t really decided what I’m going to do just yet because the contract is kind of shady. It says on the cover letter there is 35 acres and 0.0016 net acres but in the actual contract it says nothing about some small net; all that is in the contract is the 35 acres so I don’t know what they are trying to pull there but it’s not happening lol.
I have been calling other companies that drill or buy mineral rights just to see what they are offering and I have seen a big difference already. One guy contacted me today offered $600 an acre to buy outright if that’s the route I want to go, which is $200 more than what Antero offered.
If and when you decide to sign, MAKE SURE you have a reliable CONTACT person (other than your land man/person), with the company you sign with…in fact, INSIST on that. Often times questions arise, and your land man disappears once the lease is signed. These companies are human and DO make mistakes. In my case on two occasions my address information and other things was relayed incorrectly, and that caused MAJOR delays…MONTHS!!
It is good that you are asking around. Antero is, of course, trying to lease from you for the lowest possible price. It is well to remember that the person offering $600 thinks he will make a good profit, presumably double his money at least, if he can obtain it for that price. Two years ago we leased 220 acres for $5,500/acre plus 18% net royalty near Sistersville (in Lincoln District). In June 2020 we were offered $5,000/acre to purchase the O&G/Mineral rights for 75 undivided acres (of a 150 acre parcel) in Wetzel County, Green District.
They are trying to pressure you by claiming deadlines which are unlikely to be true!
It’s all so freaking confusing to me. Is the dude you talked to from Antero named Mark P? What are some other companies that I can contact? I want to do the same. So get this—my grandmother’s interest was divided in 4 since she had 4 kids. My mother passed away so it goes to me & my siblings (divided 4 ways). He offered my cousin the same as he offered us but she has no siblings so I think that she should get 4x more than us??? But he said NO & acts like he’s doing us ALL a favor..It just makes no sense at all…If you wanna talk over the phone to compare notes I’ll give you my number. I’m curious to see how this all pans out. I’ve told my family not to sign anything until I dig some more. It all just seems shady to me.
I also have 3 units to that well. Sarah is my 5th great grandmother on my mother’s side. I’m starting to get offers to sell also. I also got paperwork for direct deposit for royalties.
Gary,
I can help with the disparity between the 35 acres and the 0.0016 net acres. What that typically means is that the whole tract is 35 acres but there are many, many owners associated with the tract which is why you have a net 0.0016 acres. That is very common terminology.
Now that you have had some time to investigate, do you have any other questions that might be able to help with?
Rachel
To Lewis sure sounds good. If you want look me up on Facebook Gary Blankenship it says I live in East Los Angeles then send me a message or friend request and I’ll message you my number.
Yeah my brother and my stepdad also got the same contract. And instead of looking around or even doing some research they just signed the contract for the mineral rights and sent it back already. Now from what I have read with such a small amount of land the royalties are going to be next to nothing. I’m going to ask around I have had a few higher offers for the buyout which I might end up doing if the royalties are going to be that low. To Rachel Vass I’m confused because on the cover letter it states that 35.000 acres gross and net is 0.00016 but in the actual contract it says only 35.000 acres the way that it is worded and no mention of the net acre is what has me a little skeeched out by it.
Producers do not specify individual owner net mineral acreage on recorded memorandums or paid up leases. In the recorded memorandum they are describing the whole lease premises. This is standard, and not shady by any means.