What is the best way to find out the other mineral rights owners on my property and contact them to see if they have an interest in selling to me?
Anderson County deed records is probably the place to start, but depending how many generations the mineral ownership has passed through it could also require some genealogy research to identify the current owners.
If you can't make it to the courthouse in Palestine to research the deed records yourself you could have a local title company research it and provide copies of the deeds where the minerals were reserved, or hire an independent landman to run it down.
I have the warranty deeds from the reservations and conveyance from our purchase of the property. They go back to 1935 but there were only a few. Would it be a matter of starting with the names on the deeds Do any record of their sale to another 3rd party or passing through an estate have to be filed with the county as well?
Also, I know there are mineral leases on the property since the sellers was passed onto us, so I assume someone has already contacted other owners to get the leases signed. Would these be recorded anywhere?
At the end of the day would the best option be to hire a landman? If so is it a common practice and how much should I expect to pay?
Thanks!
The transfers of the mineral ownership since 1935 should have been recorded if they were done through mineral deeds but if the original owners died and they passed by inheritance it's possible nothing would have been recorded. On your point about prior mineral leases signed by those other mineral owners, those also should have been recorded. You might try contacting Anderson County Abstract Company or one of the other title companies in town and see what they would charge to give you a run sheet showing all the documents that have been recorded since 1935 under the legal description of your property.
Before spending money though you might try doing a little internet research on the mineral owner names you have. Another cheap alternative is seeing what you can find on a website called TexasFile.com where you can search the deed records for most Texas counties, including Anderson. You will need to establish an account but it doesn't cost anything to search and only two dollars for each document you want to look at. I think the records they have on-line for Anderson County only go back 20 or 30 years but if you search those names you have you might be able to make a connection.
Hiring a landman would probably be the easiest way to go but I can't guess what it would cost. I think most would quote you an hourly fee but there is no way to know how long the process might take until they get into the research. You can probably find some one to discuss this with if you Google landman+Anderson County.
If there is any active production, search the appraisal district website for other mineral owner accounts in your abstract.
What is "the appraisal district website"? Sorry, new to all this.
Wade Caldwell said:
If there is any active production, search the appraisal district website for other mineral owner accounts in your abstract.
Make you a deal. I am a landman and have worked in 15 different states including Texas. Send me COPIES, not originals, of what you have and I will then be able to give you a somewhat knowledgeable answer. No, if I suggest hiring a landman, I DO NOT WANT THE JOB. Landmen today go for $250 +-/day plus exp.
Riceowl99 said:
I have the warranty deeds from the reservations and conveyance from our purchase of the property. They go back to 1935 but there were only a few. Would it be a matter of starting with the names on the deeds Do any record of their sale to another 3rd party or passing through an estate have to be filed with the county as well?
Also, I know there are mineral leases on the property since the sellers was passed onto us, so I assume someone has already contacted other owners to get the leases signed. Would these be recorded anywhere?
At the end of the day would the best option be to hire a landman? If so is it a common practice and how much should I expect to pay?
Thanks!
The appraisal district website Wade was talking about in your case would be www.andersoncad.net the Anderson County Central Appraisal District.
In some county's CAD sites it's possible to search by abstract or legal description but I think your only option in Anderson Co. may be doing a name search on those mineral owner names you have to see if any accounts starting with a "G", which are the producing minerals, come up.
Dusty is correct. I did not see a way to search by abstract or legal description. You might call the appraisal district and see if they can send you a print out of all the mineral owners in your property.
Riceowl99,
Do you know the Abstract, Section and Block # 's of your minerals in question?
Wade if there has been any wells on his property, we can go to the drilling permit and check the plat map or the P-12 and we possibly can find out who the mineral owners are in that unit.
Clint Liles
Clint can you send me your email address and I will send you the information. There hasn't been any wells drilled and the property is actually in Houston County.
Is it out of the ordinary for a surface owner to contact or try to buy the minerals on their property?
Clint Liles said:
Riceowl99,
Do you know the Abstract, Section and Block # 's of your minerals in question?
Wade if there has been any wells on his property, we can go to the drilling permit and check the plat map or the P-12 and we possibly can find out who the mineral owners are in that unit.
Clint Liles
Riceowl99,
My email address:
clint1@dsdd.com
or
3toy@nctv.com
Clint Liles
Riceowl99 said:
Clint can you send me your email address and I will send you the information. There hasn't been any wells drilled and the property is actually in Houston County.Is it out of the ordinary for a surface owner to contact or try to buy the minerals on their property?
Clint Liles said:
Riceowl99,
Do you know the Abstract, Section and Block # 's of your minerals in question?
Wade if there has been any wells on his property, we can go to the drilling permit and check the plat map or the P-12 and we possibly can find out who the mineral owners are in that unit.
Clint Liles
Houston County Appraisal District at www.houstoncad.org has a lot more search capability that Anderson Co. but since only producing interests are carried on the tax rolls if there isn't current production nearby that probably won't help in finding the mineral owners you are looking for.
On your question about whether trying to buy that mineral interest is unusual, search this site about offers to buy or sell mineral interest and you'll see a lot of comments about unsolicited offers people have gotten. When you locate the current owners of those minerals it may be tough coming to agreement on their value, particularly if there hasn't been much recent activity in your area. Valuing non-producing minerals can be a lot harder than real estate where comparable prices are easier to come by, so the only way to find out what's possible will probably be putting an offer on the table.
If buying the minerals doesn't work out you might consider just trying acquire a surface waiver from the mineral owners. If you don't have surface control currently that kind of waiver would give you security and enhance your property value, but still allow the mineral owner to lease and benefit wells drilled with their minerals as part of a pooled unit or a horizontal well drilled from another tract.