Darlene,
Think of it this way, if someone is wanting to buy, then it is about to produce. I recently had someone offer to purchase a parcel and the purchase price was for less than the first royalty check. I buy parcels, but am not a shark, do not solicit to purchase, only buy from people that approach me.
If you look at the top right of this page, there is an “Inbox”. I will email you directly with my direct email address for you to email me and I will email the tax map directly to you.
WV
I bet I get up to three and four letters a month where different companies want to buy my leases. I have three one is in production and has been for two years. ONE I just signed (ANTERO) a division order last week. The third all six wells are drilled but waiting to FRAC, They want to buy for a reason, they know something, so just hold onto it I agree with Darlene I suggest NOT selling it. It may be a year , it may be FIVE years but something is going to happen .
My one check from CNX in Doddridge was really good when it first came on and all of them are. But now my monthly check is average about $3,000. My husband actually called one of these companies that was interested in buying and I was toying with the idea of 2 million, they offered $6,000 total. for a pad that averages $3,000 even if it goes dry in a year I will get more than $6,000. Please just think about it.
Sorry on one leased it say tax map 5 parcel 1 and second lease states tax map 5 parcel number 6
sorry missed typed
tax map 5 parcel 6
tax map 5 parcel 1
one is for 130 acres and one is for 75 acres
thanks WV Mineral Owner
No problem, I found the two parcels and have the map to share.
How do I find out where my wells are or where my parcels are and what they are doing in the area? All I have are tax bills that I pay every year but I have no idea if they are anywhere even near the areas I own… They have names like Neds Run, Buffalo Calf, Wisemans Run… anyone ever heard of these places or know if anything is going on there?
Thank you DT and Nancy for the info. Sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner. Been offline for a while. I’m going to the courthouse next week and checking on that. Hopefully I will find out what I need. Again, thanks.
Darlene,
If you email me directly at puppynoodle@aol.com, I will email you the maps from my professional email address. I sent a note to your Inbox, but obviously it did not transmit properly.
WV
I just did a search on “neds run” doddridge and found this Ned’s Run
You can zoom out, change from topo to map, and other things.
Do the same with the others. I didn’t try it but I have heard of Buffalo Calf Run.
If you have wells on there, you can ask your company for the API numbers then go here to the WV Office of Oil and Gas map search
and put in the API number and find the location. Again, if you have wells, you should be able to contact the Doddridge assessor’s office and ask them what API numbers are connected with your taxes, and do that. I have other websites that might help if you have API numbers.
Charlene,
Taxes on the property you have an interest in are being paid by Michael & Frances Chipps of Parkersburg, WV. They have a larger interest in the property & have been paying the taxes for many years. They did not want to sign a lease on the property. I believe they were taken to court because they refused to sign.
Thank you Chloe for that info. I’m still going to go down and see what I have to do to get listed on the taxes in case they decide they no longer want to pay them or at least get notified when taxes are due. I love this site. there are so many helpful people here. 
Charlene, if Doddridge is like Ritchie, there is only one tax ticket sent for each tract. The county does not care who pays them. They send out the ticket to whomever is on the ticket in care of. Unless you go through the process to get your share put in your name, it stays that way. Back in the day, when minerals were just an after thought, the minerals seldom got changed to the next heir for tax purposes. The taxes were just a few dollars and “someone” in the family just paid them. Spring forward to now and when the minerals are worth more people are researching more. One thing for sure that is evident is, the taxes are usually paid by one person for every owner in lot’s of cases. There are a lot of heirs out there who are getting their share paid and don’t even realize there are taxes to being paid.
Hey Nancy M. I know you can explain the process and what is involved to do the ownership change.
Nancy, thanks for chiming in. Trying to understand this process is why most people throw their hands up and just move on. I understand it and know in order to not pay all the taxes, I need to get the transfers done. I would say more than not, one person is paying the taxes in many instances on mineral property. The sad part is many mineral owner heirs who are getting royalties now, don’t even know there are taxes on the minerals they own. Huh… two years ago or so they did not even know they owned anything until oil/gas company came calling. One thing for sure is the oil/gas company did not say was: By the way you owe taxes on these newfound minerals.
Thanks again Nancy for your input.
You’re right DT that it is a big process. Even with just one generation and a clear will, like our family, it is a several step process. And Ritchie County seems to have a good system compared with what I have heard about some other counties.
To be clear, the taxes talked about here are county property taxes. If there is income, royalty or bonus (with signing the lease) there are also income taxes, for federal and West Virginia, even if the mineral owner lives out of state. Depending on your individual situation, you might not have to pay WV taxes, but that would require a tax expert.
Right Nancy on the mineral taxes. Some people do not realize that a tract of land has mineral and surface rights. Those two are taxed separate. That is where the issue starts. The mineral rights may be owned by lot’s of people. When the original owner passes them down it looks like a family tree. If each person never bothered to have them put their name, the issue becomes more difficult. The taxes are on one tract and never separated for each owner. Most of the time for years, one person paid the taxes which were only a few dollars. Then leasing came and the horizontal drilling and maybe 2 or 3 wells are drilled with the tract receiving royalties. Then the county reappraises the tract and the taxes go higher. Now that one person who has been paying for everyone has a tax bill that has escalated. Try to get 20 or 30 people of which some you don’t even know to help pay their share. This is an issue that many wish was an easy fix. Not easy and time and research time spent is a lot. Nancy has been very helpful to many on here and many will continue to benefit from her expertise.
Hi DT! As I understand it (might differ in some counties) the way to get started is to figure out who the minerals are officially belonging to. Often this is somebody from around 1900 or so. Great grandpa sold the farm, retained the minerals, and moved to Ohio. Tax ticket went to his new home. Great grandpa died, his daughter took over paying the tax when the ticket came (she lived with her father so go the tax bill when it came next time). She kept paying until she died. Then her nephew started paying. Etc. Finally 2017 somebody wants to get it sorted out.
Start with great grandpa. There is a deed recorded when he sold the farm, retaining oil and gas, or coal oil and gas, etc. Did he have a will? Yes, and it is filed in the county in Ohio where he died. So that is the first step, getting the copy of his will from Ohio and filing it in Ritchie (or Doddridge etc.) Then if he left everything to his wife, you need to have everything in her name. Did she have a will? She left everything to her 5 children. Transfer things to their names. They have been dead a few years. Did they have wills?..
There is a procedure required by the state of WV for transferring title but there is a little variation in how the different counties handle it.There should be a Probate Clerk or some such title for somebody in the County Clerk’s office, who is in charge of handling transfers. That is the one to contact, at the county courthouse.
The heirs have to get the copies of wills, or whatever paperwork is necessary, but the Probate Clerk can help.
The state requires an appraisement of all property transferred. They have a formula, taking the assessed value (on the tax ticket) and multiplying it by 8/5 or something like that.
Call the courthouse and get started. It might be complicated but it gets more complicated with each new generation.
Dawn Acosta: one web site that I’ve used to find things like what you’re looking for is historicmapworks.com. Do a Google search for “XXXX District, XXXX County, WV” and it will come up as one of the first few hits. You’ll get old maps with the runs named on them. If it’s a named run, it’s probably on those maps. Usually a named run was big enough to get on the map. Sometimes not, though. You have to zoom in and scroll around on the maps, but if you have a rough idea where the property is already you don’t have to look at the entire tax district. Good luck!
How long can a division order take if there are non responsive parties? My mother was contacted by an Antero representative and was told she is heir to mineral rights of a property with a producing well in doddridge county. This unit (Weinhold) started production early last year . The rep said royalty payments are being held until verification can be made and a division order issued. These mineral rights were passed down from a great grandfather, a brother in law of my mother is refusing to respond to attempted contact. The rep of Antero keeps telling mom we are waiting on the non responsive party. How long can the order be held up with this being a producing property?
Thanks,
Dan
Dan,
My understanding is, all parties are not required to sign a DO and those that have refused, have their royalty placed in a Suspense Account. In the past, it has taken Antero 14 - 18 months, from the time of production, until the first royalty check is distributed.