I just read a blurb about companies wanting to use bank drafts to pay lease bonuses. It talks about the risk to the lessor and went on to say that while the company has 30 days or more to do research and decide if it wants to honor the draft depending on the information received. If the lessor has sent back the signed contract to the company at the time they deposited the draft for collection, the lessor runs the risk that the lease is recorded and then the draft not be honored. The article says then the only way to make things right is by hiring an attorney and suing. The article recommends requesting a cashier's check to guarantee that funds are available.
Anyone hear of owners getting ripped off like this?
Dear Dianne,
The woods are full of people who have been cold drafted. I do not require a cashier's check. Just a check. The criminal charges of theft by check are pretty strong.
http://www.mineralrightsforum.com/profiles/blogs/oil-and-gas-bank-draft
Thanks for the info. I just received one of these and was not quite sure about them so I have been trying to learn more about them being used. I will now not consider their offer with this bank draft, but insist on a check.
I received a check when I met with the land guy & signed the (final copy) lease agreement. My brother in SW Oklahoma got a bank draft from a different company. Many of his neighbors also got a bank draft & were told 'it would be good once they got enough investors lined up'. Long story short, 6 months later it still wasn't worth anything but the mineral leases (his & all the neighbors) had all been recorded in the Jackson county courthouse. Imagine that. It was about 18 months later before the mineral leases were finally released at the courthouse. No activity ever occurred. I think it was just a company hoping to flip leases to a bigger player.