Hello, We are looking at buying land in Navarro county, Texas. I know that it was the oil boom county back in the day. The seller does not want to give up mineral rights. If we did buy there would have to be a clause that protected surface rights. I am concerned that not having mineral rights will devalue the land. We are already offering below their asking price quite a bit because of the conditon of the house and property. Does not have the mineral rights devalue it more? Could we offer even less? While it appears they should be motivated to sell they are protraying that they aren’t. Will we be able to sell in the future without mineral rights? Is there anything we can do to presuade them to give up the mineral rights? How do we even find out of they truly have them in the first place?
Thank you for any insights!