Lease Rates in Moffat County Colorado?

General Mineral Rights Discussion
141

It has been some time since I have posted any information and wanted to update everyone who assisted me as to how my situation was resolved. I had initially been contacted by SWEPI (Shell connected) who offered me such a deal. I hold 160 net acres and they were willing to offer me $40,000 for a 3-year paid-up lease with an option to re-lease for another two whereupon I would receive yet another $40,000. Stupidly, hoping on the good faith of mankind, I executed the lease. One of the terms contained was that they would be permitted 60 days with which to search to make sure I did own these mineral rights, etc. As it turned out, they did, in fact, find that I was the actual owner of interests that were located in what is known as the “Sombrero Unit” and for that, they would not be able to proceed leasing my interests. They were told very clearly NOT to record the executed lease until in fact, their search was done and all was found to be in order when in fact, they went ahead and recorded the paid-up lease yet I had never received any monies. Oh, they were so sorry about all of this and due to their actions, my interests were now in their possession for free although they couldn’t do anything with them. I had to request for Swepi to produce a Release of Lease document which seemed to take forever; really around two months even though I provided them with a generic form of the document necessary to get me out from under their hold. It took the threat of attorney involvement to get them going which took another week or so but finally… got them to sign and record the Release of Lease. In the interim there was another company who works within the confines of the Sombrero Unit who offered me a lease arrangement. I can’t express how skeptical I was at this point due to the prior experience I had yet this new interested company kept reassuring me that they were legit and offered me a lease term of 5 years representing the first 3 years to be leased for $28,000 and if they decide to continue further, the next two years at $28,000. So needless to say, I accepted this offer and now received the monies they offered to consummate the deal. It was a very trying, frustrating experience; one that I learned a great deal from and hope for any of you that are in the same position as I was, will find a reputable outfit to lease with. Many years ago, my family utilized landmen who were out in the area and had knowledge about these transactions and would assist you in these endeavors. They were almost like family and word was bond. It is so very different today. I hope this posting will be helpful to others and I know it was a godsend for me even though I still had to learn my lesson the hard way. If there is any concern you feel I may be able to assist you with, please do not hesitate to reach out. Thanks for all, Jamie Velsor

Jamie Velsor said:

Wow, thanks so very much for your expert scenario which has given me more insight to the inner workings of this industry. I do have one potential party that is interested in leasing from me once I get out from under the current situation I find myself in. Years back, my grandmother had a landman who watched out for her best interests to some degree and made negotiating, etc. so much easier. Your time and knowledge is so appreciated and have learned a hard lesson in this incident. Thank you for corresponding...

r w kennedy said:
Ms. Velsor, I think it is a form of OPM, which stands for other peoples money. In other words they want to get a comittment from you, which has value for no money involved. Your commitment to lease for a specified consideration has value, they can keep it or shop it around to see how much they can sell it for. If they can sell it at a profit then they pay you and collect that profit, that is over and above what they pay you. They may keep a 1% or 2% royalty interest if they leased you for 16% and they can peddle your lease for 18%. All with no out of pocket expenses beyond postage and the recording fee involved. Value of a lease can change dramatically in the space of a few months to a year. Many mineral owners would accept payment ( finally ) and be glad to get it after a year, thinking at least it's finally over and they got paid. It may not occour to them that the value of their lease could have gone up by hundreds of dollars per acre and 1% to 4% in royalty in the time between when the up front payment was due and when it is actually paid. I think the best policy is not to let the executed lease leave your controll until you have certified funds. If by chance someone has your executed lease and recorded it without paying you, I think immediate remedial action is required, engage a lawyer if necessary. You should also seek some lease offers. You may need some refusals on the grounds that there is a lease recorded to recover damages. Do not let them sit on your lease without paying you. I really hope things turn out well for you. RWK
142

Thank you Joe.

Here is the information I received from Moffat on the minium documents needed to transfer title.

A. Copies of Letters of Appointment issued to a Personal Representative (Foreign, nonresident descendent, or local) certified by a Colorado Court and a signed Deed of Distribution, signed by a personal representative.

NOTE: There may be an recorded an Estate Closing Order, certified by the Court of Colorado instead of Letters of Appointment, and there may be a copy of the Bond of a Foreign (nonresident personal representative) or a certificate stating that no Bond is required certified by the Court of Colorado.

OR

B. A Quiet Title Decree certified by the Court of Colorado

or

C, Decree of Determination of Heirship, certified by the Court of Colorado.

My question supposing my attorney drew up the required documents in Montana, how do I get them "certified by the Court of Colorado" without involving my lethargic attorney in Montana to file them for me? You can understand my frustration!

Mineral Joe said:

Dianne,
Your really not supposed to file a copy of a document unless it is certified. You can file the original documents or contact the court clerk's office in Montana or where the probate was filed and tell them you need certified copies sent to you. They may ask for you to send payment in advance, normally $1 per page for copies and another $1 or more for a certification (an embossed stamp) then send everything to Moffat county recorder's office with filing fee. You can file some documents as attachments but file the trustees deed separate. I would only get a copy of the letter of testamentary and the trustee"s deed and only file those to save money as the other documents don't need filed in Moffat and probates can be many pages and cost a fair amount for copies and filing fees.

143

Dianne,

The letter of testamentary is the appointment of a trustee or personal representative by a court and then that trustee or representative signs a deed from the estate by them to you. so it can be just 2 pages to file. I just dealt with one in Co, pretty simple.

On your question of certification, you must have misunderstood them, you only need a certified copy from the court clerks office where the probate is on file, where the probate was done. There is no where in Colorado than can certify it unless the probate was done in Colorado and is on file there.

You say you don't want to use your attorney, you will need a deed. I could email you one I used but you need to have and understand the meaning of the letter of testamentary to properly execute the deed. You should let the attorney complete his job so there are no mistakes. Probates do take a long time, here normally around 6 months.

1 Like
144

Dianne,

Mineral Joe is right...Personal Rep. appointment papers are notorized, as are deeds, etc. and death certificates are certified (origs). Probate in Montana must be open at least 6 months, so 7 probably isn't unusual. I have sent notorized and certified papers to Moffat (done out of Colorado) for recording - no problem.

145

I have the whole lease it is so old you can’t believe it. I don’t understand it one bit.

mahoney said:

david fancourt agee said:

My mother has inherited mineral rights in Moffat County, which have been leased by Kaiser-Francis Oil for maybe 50 years. There are two small producing gas wells on the property. However, other oil companies have approached her and want to lease specific areas of the acreage not being used in production by Kaiser-

Francis; specifically Township 7, Sections and 4, Range 90, Township 8, Section 3, Township 9, Township 10, and section4 Lot 5 and Lot 6. Supposedly geologists have disovered minerals those specific areas and several different oil companies over the years have tried to "top lease" them, however, Kaiser-Francis Oil won't allow that, yet nor will they explore and extract what others seem to believe is there, It would sure be helpful to my mother who is 89 if somehow someone could help her with this. I just don't understand why Kaiser-Francis isn't drilling those specific unused areas. Any ideas, thanks. DF AGEE (google Agee Gulch)

DAVID - WHAT does the lease say? If You don't have it, You can obtain a copy of the lease from the county (Clerk and Recorder office) or simply ask Kaiser-Francis. If areas are not "held by production" (included in one of Grandmother's well units, then they can be leased...Do some homework.

146

Hey Dianne,

Who did you get that email from? It's really interesting information, but I haven't seen anything like it. I'd love to get more information about that area because that is close to where are lease is.

Tami


Dianne said:

This is something I received in my email a couple of days ago. I don't know if it's true or not. I am still waiting for the proof in the pudding. Dianne

PRIME NIOBRARA SHALE OIL POSITION AVAILABILITY – PREVIEW ANNOUNCEMENT

  • 65,000 gross and 26,000 net acres in heart of USGS “Continuous Niobrara Oil Assessment Unit”
  • Sand Wash Basin in the Greater Green River Basin, Routt and Moffat Counties, Colorado
  • Surrounding Buck Peak Field (T6N-R90W) – one of the two most prolific, fractured, Niobrara vertical production data points in the Rockies (the other one being Silo Field in the DJ Basin)
  • Buck Peak vertical Niobrara cumulative production per well up to 1.6 million barrels oil
  • Estimated oil in place per square mile – 75 MMBOE to 150 MMBOE – recoverability possibilities from 2.25 MMBOE to 4.5 MMBOE per governmental section
  • Logs appear similar to Silo Field in the DJ Basin
  • Competitors have completed the land play – dominant position Shell Oil, also significant leaseholds by Continental, Quicksilver, and EOG
  • Industry trades of prime Niobrara leases have recently established values from $2,000 to $6,000 per net acre
  • Almost all new fee leases – 55% are five year primary term with optional 5 year extensions; 20% are straight 5 year term; 25% are 3 year term with variable extension options – title and lease administration to major company standards (approximately 25% are topleases vesting within a few months)
  • Fracture Analysis Synthesis Study completed on region by industry expert – available to purchaser
  • Sellers own and operate Buck Peak, Grassy Creek, and Illes Dome fields in the immediate area, producing over 225 gross BOPD, and a significant acreage and production position in the Wattenberg Field of the DJ Basin – producing wells and DJ position available by separate negotiation

Next Energy, LLC, in association with HRM Resources, LLC, is offering for sale the captioned newly acquired oil and gas lease position in one of the two best Niobrara oil target areas, based on historic direct evidence and natural fracturing. HRM’s team was in fact a previous operator of the analogue Silo Field. This position will likely be committed to a sales process through one of the major industry sale advisors within two weeks. The sellers will seek the best offer combination of price per acre, retained net revenue, and retained working interest with partial carry – from a capable buyer experienced with current shale oil development technology. The current acreage position is shown on the map below.

Inquiries can be most efficiently handled by emailing xxxx as to the contact information and best time to call, and a prompt phone response will be made. Also, if you are interested in HRM’s production and DJ package, and/or being contacted on other shale oil project offerings in the future, please respond by email.

147

Hi Tami,

I had posted that a long time ago. I'm not sure where I got this email. It looks like an ad from HRM NetEnergy. Sorry I couldn't be of more help! Dianne



Tami Camper said:

Hey Dianne,

Who did you get that email from? It's really interesting information, but I haven't seen anything like it. I'd love to get more information about that area because that is close to where are lease is.

Tami


Dianne said:

This is something I received in my email a couple of days ago. I don't know if it's true or not. I am still waiting for the proof in the pudding. Dianne

PRIME NIOBRARA SHALE OIL POSITION AVAILABILITY – PREVIEW ANNOUNCEMENT

  • 65,000 gross and 26,000 net acres in heart of USGS “Continuous Niobrara Oil Assessment Unit”
  • Sand Wash Basin in the Greater Green River Basin, Routt and Moffat Counties, Colorado
  • Surrounding Buck Peak Field (T6N-R90W) – one of the two most prolific, fractured, Niobrara vertical production data points in the Rockies (the other one being Silo Field in the DJ Basin)
  • Buck Peak vertical Niobrara cumulative production per well up to 1.6 million barrels oil
  • Estimated oil in place per square mile – 75 MMBOE to 150 MMBOE – recoverability possibilities from 2.25 MMBOE to 4.5 MMBOE per governmental section
  • Logs appear similar to Silo Field in the DJ Basin
  • Competitors have completed the land play – dominant position Shell Oil, also significant leaseholds by Continental, Quicksilver, and EOG
  • Industry trades of prime Niobrara leases have recently established values from $2,000 to $6,000 per net acre
  • Almost all new fee leases – 55% are five year primary term with optional 5 year extensions; 20% are straight 5 year term; 25% are 3 year term with variable extension options – title and lease administration to major company standards (approximately 25% are topleases vesting within a few months)
  • Fracture Analysis Synthesis Study completed on region by industry expert – available to purchaser
  • Sellers own and operate Buck Peak, Grassy Creek, and Illes Dome fields in the immediate area, producing over 225 gross BOPD, and a significant acreage and production position in the Wattenberg Field of the DJ Basin – producing wells and DJ position available by separate negotiation

Next Energy, LLC, in association with HRM Resources, LLC, is offering for sale the captioned newly acquired oil and gas lease position in one of the two best Niobrara oil target areas, based on historic direct evidence and natural fracturing. HRM’s team was in fact a previous operator of the analogue Silo Field. This position will likely be committed to a sales process through one of the major industry sale advisors within two weeks. The sellers will seek the best offer combination of price per acre, retained net revenue, and retained working interest with partial carry – from a capable buyer experienced with current shale oil development technology. The current acreage position is shown on the map below.

Inquiries can be most efficiently handled by emailing xxxx as to the contact information and best time to call, and a prompt phone response will be made. Also, if you are interested in HRM’s production and DJ package, and/or being contacted on other shale oil project offerings in the future, please respond by email.

148

Sherri Sweers has disassociated with Feldmann Nagel.

With five years of experience from the Grand Junction area, I (Jenna Keller) have joined Feldmann Nagel to lead their oil and gas practice, particularly I will continue to represent land and royalty owners in Colorado.


George Hageman said:

I've found several lawyers in the Craig/Steamboat area, I've decided to go with Ralph Cantafio in Steamboat Springs. His website is at: http://www.cantafiolaw.com. I've had a good initial conversation with him over the phone, and I think that he will be perfect for the job. He has also written several papers on the subject of oil/gas leasing that are available in pdf form at his website. I'm in the process of reading them but at first blush they seem a good read with valuable information.

There were others in the Steamboat/Craig area. Thomas Thornberry in Craig Thomas C Thornberry
555 Breeze St # 250
Craig, Colorado 81625
(970)8247057

I think would be an excellent choice, however he is not taking on any new oil/gas clients at the present time.

In Denver I found a Michael Williams. He responded well to my questions about his practice and experience. His rates were fair I think. You can reach him at:

Michael C. Williams, Esq.
DENVER: 1660 Lincoln St. #2330, Denver CO 80264
Phone: (720)-214-1861 Fax 303-265-9652

Sherri Sweers at Feldmann Nagel et al responded well to questions but does not have the experience level yet. I have heard that this law firm does not have a great reputation, but I do not have any personal experience with them as this time.

Sherri L. Sweers, L.L.C.
Feldmann Nagel Brauchler & Weeden (CO Division)
Feldmann Nagel, LLC
P.O.Box 775628
Steamboat Springs, CO 80477
ssweers@feldmann-nagel.com
(970) 879-8616

149



alicia said:

Hi there, I was also contacted by Core Land Resources, got a letter today. I only own the mineral rights to 20 acres, Township 7 North Range 89 West 6th PM. Section 6?

They offered 5 year lease, $50/acre bonus with 1/8 royalties. Is this a decent price?
We got the same offer from same land manager and we are bowing out because it is too low of a #. We have 150 acres. Devided by 8 kids in the will. Will not accept until they give us at least $250.00 an acre and at least 17% royalties
150

Alicia:

Our family also owns mineral rights in T7R89, Sec. 5&6. Total of 325 acres. We are under lease to CoreLand (actually, their client is Axia Energy). You should expect something in the same $$ amount as Paul suggests.

151

I agree. Our initial offer from CoreLand was a lowball in lease contract conditions and price. We eventually signed with them when we settled on a much more equitable contract and much more bonus. Location, of course, is everything but this process seems to be common.

df

Tim Byerley said:

Alicia:

Our family also owns mineral rights in T7R89, Sec. 5&6. Total of 325 acres. We are under lease to CoreLand (actually, their client is Axia Energy). You should expect something in the same $$ amount as Paul suggests.

152



DennisF said:

I agree. Our initial offer from CoreLand was a lowball in lease contract conditions and price. We eventually signed with them when we settled on a much more equitable contract and much more bonus. Location, of course, is everything but this process seems to be common.

df

Tim Byerley said:

Alicia:

Our family also owns mineral rights in T7R89, Sec. 5&6. Total of 325 acres. We are under lease to CoreLand (actually, their client is Axia Energy). You should expect something in the same $$ amount as Paul suggests.

153

Judging from the decrease of message activity in this forum in recent months, I assume that the bottom must have dropped out of leasing activity. Am I mistaken here? I see by the COGCC maps that most of the wells in Moffat County are gas wells, so maybe the abundant supply of gas is responsible. I have also read that several companies have formed joint ventures, exchanging lease interests and potential royalties. I assume that this would decrease the competition for new leases. Any other possibilities?

154

All companies had completed their leasing for Moffat and Routt Counties a long time ago. They were leasing for the Niobrara for oil. They are all now in the process permitting, drilling and exploration. Shell and Quicksilver joined up I believe because Quicksilver was in over their head after messing up in Routt.

155

Hello Mineral Joe,

Our family is in a rather odd situation in that when my grandparents sold the farm in Craig they homesteaded, the retained the mineral rights. Sometime in the 1950's my grandmother, who knew nothing about oil or gas leases signed with Sun Oil and at some point Kaiser-Francis obtained the rights. Sun Oil, I believe, put in three small gas wells, then Kaiser obtained them. For years they have been spitting out tiny royalty checks for natural gas.

The problem is that my mother, now in her nineties, has had numerous offers from numerous oil companies, with the tease of royalty money and so much per barrel and so forth, however, at the last minute they all pull out. It seems that Kaiser-Francis holds control of the entire area as the measly wells of which they have control keep the rest of the lots and sections, which is what these other companies are always after, thus due to production others may not drill on the remainder of the unused portions. It took me nearly three months of back and forth with Kaiser to realize they went and leased the rights of the unused portions to at least seven or eight other oil companies. Then it gets to be a tangled mess, some have rights from a certain depth to the center of the earth and others have rights from the top of the earth to a certain depth. The bottom line is, it is all tied up and no oil company as yet has been willing to follow through with these proposals as they do not wish to deal with all the complications. Indeed, even if things are clear sailing, it is no small task to put down several wells at such great expense. What bothers me is that in the original Sun Oil Lease it clearly states in the contract she has control from the top of the earth to the center of the earth, yet, Kaiser went ahead and leased the top half to several companies and the other portion from a certain depth to the center of the earth. Somehow it has never seemed correct to me, indeed, I have no experience whatsoever with oil leasing, but just a common-sense read of the original contract would lead me to believe someone has done something that is not exactly straight forward. We are afraid of retaining an attorney who will run an endless clock on untying this mess, nor are we sure that just because an attorney told us it was possible that the attorney would be able to actually do anything whatsoever. The deeper I delved into the thing it became clear that the rules are set up against our favor, however, there is no question their is a sizeable amount of shale or crude or something there or these offers made by landmen who did not do their homework would not be forthcoming. The lots and sections they all want seem to always be the same, they do not infringe upon the ancient tiny gas wells whatsoever. I am fairly sure the area must be near a geographical point on Google Earth called Agee Gulch, which is named after my grandfather. At any rate, I will tell you that the last time I made an attempt to find out what was going on I finally got to Merit Energy and whatever question I asked struck a nerve as the Vice President said he had instructed "every" employee at Merit Energy to no longer accept telephone calls from me.

Kaiser-Francis, who did all this sub-leasing without our knowledge, has absolutely no interest in drilling and prefer to work in and around Oklahoma and Texas. All we ever get is a lot of happy double-talk and we will look into it and so forth yet nothing comes of it. Whether or not oil companies are still interested in drilling in Moffatt County I do not know, however, it would be nice if somehow all those sections and areas that have been tied up in these strange leases that seem to contradict the original 1954 lease, could be freed up and should she get another offer or we went about looking for interested parties we could perhaps accomplish something. I apologize for such a wordy note, yet I cannot seem to boil the thing down to more simple terms. Any advice you may have would be greatly appreciated. The fact is we really are not in need of money; what is annoying is that certainty that they absolutely do not like any questions asked and that it is my experience that we get an awful lot of friendly good-old-boy country banter in which the various companies talk a great deal but say nothing. I freely admit what I know about these sorts of things could fit into a small thimble but I have been in business a number of years at in other areas and when I am getting the run-around, even by the best runner-arounders, I can tell and it sticks in my craw. Thank you for your time in reading this. Yours, David Agee 619 463 1866.

156

I will admit that while our family currently has 325 acres under lease in the same area, including one producing well, I haven't run into the kind of issues that you are facing. My advise from the position of a layman would be to get in touch with a oil/gas lawyer in the Craig area that could help unravel some of these issues. You might pay a fair amount of money to work on your behalf, but in my experience, if a lawyer contacts the players directly and lets them know that you have hired a lawyer, it might be money well spent.

Good Luck.

Mr. David Fancourt Agee said:

Hello Mineral Joe,

Our family is in a rather odd situation in that when my grandparents sold the farm in Craig they homesteaded, the retained the mineral rights. Sometime in the 1950's my grandmother, who knew nothing about oil or gas leases signed with Sun Oil and at some point Kaiser-Francis obtained the rights. Sun Oil, I believe, put in three small gas wells, then Kaiser obtained them. For years they have been spitting out tiny royalty checks for natural gas.

The problem is that my mother, now in her nineties, has had numerous offers from numerous oil companies, with the tease of royalty money and so much per barrel and so forth, however, at the last minute they all pull out. It seems that Kaiser-Francis holds control of the entire area as the measly wells of which they have control keep the rest of the lots and sections, which is what these other companies are always after, thus due to production others may not drill on the remainder of the unused portions. It took me nearly three months of back and forth with Kaiser to realize they went and leased the rights of the unused portions to at least seven or eight other oil companies. Then it gets to be a tangled mess, some have rights from a certain depth to the center of the earth and others have rights from the top of the earth to a certain depth. The bottom line is, it is all tied up and no oil company as yet has been willing to follow through with these proposals as they do not wish to deal with all the complications. Indeed, even if things are clear sailing, it is no small task to put down several wells at such great expense. What bothers me is that in the original Sun Oil Lease it clearly states in the contract she has control from the top of the earth to the center of the earth, yet, Kaiser went ahead and leased the top half to several companies and the other portion from a certain depth to the center of the earth. Somehow it has never seemed correct to me, indeed, I have no experience whatsoever with oil leasing, but just a common-sense read of the original contract would lead me to believe someone has done something that is not exactly straight forward. We are afraid of retaining an attorney who will run an endless clock on untying this mess, nor are we sure that just because an attorney told us it was possible that the attorney would be able to actually do anything whatsoever. The deeper I delved into the thing it became clear that the rules are set up against our favor, however, there is no question their is a sizeable amount of shale or crude or something there or these offers made by landmen who did not do their homework would not be forthcoming. The lots and sections they all want seem to always be the same, they do not infringe upon the ancient tiny gas wells whatsoever. I am fairly sure the area must be near a geographical point on Google Earth called Agee Gulch, which is named after my grandfather. At any rate, I will tell you that the last time I made an attempt to find out what was going on I finally got to Merit Energy and whatever question I asked struck a nerve as the Vice President said he had instructed "every" employee at Merit Energy to no longer accept telephone calls from me.

Kaiser-Francis, who did all this sub-leasing without our knowledge, has absolutely no interest in drilling and prefer to work in and around Oklahoma and Texas. All we ever get is a lot of happy double-talk and we will look into it and so forth yet nothing comes of it. Whether or not oil companies are still interested in drilling in Moffatt County I do not know, however, it would be nice if somehow all those sections and areas that have been tied up in these strange leases that seem to contradict the original 1954 lease, could be freed up and should she get another offer or we went about looking for interested parties we could perhaps accomplish something. I apologize for such a wordy note, yet I cannot seem to boil the thing down to more simple terms. Any advice you may have would be greatly appreciated. The fact is we really are not in need of money; what is annoying is that certainty that they absolutely do not like any questions asked and that it is my experience that we get an awful lot of friendly good-old-boy country banter in which the various companies talk a great deal but say nothing. I freely admit what I know about these sorts of things could fit into a small thimble but I have been in business a number of years at in other areas and when I am getting the run-around, even by the best runner-arounders, I can tell and it sticks in my craw. Thank you for your time in reading this. Yours, David Agee 619 463 1866.

157

Thank you for your reply. I am certain that you are correct in your advice about retaining a barrister in the Craig area. The trouble is, Mother, at age 93, is indeed more than leery of all attorneys as most folks should be, and she does not want an endless clock running. I do believe there is some flim-flam that has gone on over the past sixty or so years due to the fact that no one ever bothered to pay attention to this until the offers came coming in some few years back. If you know of any attorneys whom you consider trustworthy or with whom you have done business with in the Craig area, I would appreciate it if you could give me a name or two. There are many advertised but as I reside in San Diego I have no knowledge of their reputations. I believe there are 160 acres to which she holds the mineral rights, and the small gas well that Kaiser has takes up less than one acre, however, it manages to spit out just enough revenue to hold the rest of the rights hostage. It is indeed a tangled web, I have tried all the things I could think of and from each company the routine is the same, first, a jovial denial, then after a bit more pestering I am referred to another party who says they shall look into it, then it turns to out-right rudeness, on their part, not mine. Revealing information is not a priority to any of the companies, despite the fact that the rights belong to Mother and have been leased or sub-leased by Kaiser belong to her. Thank you again, I shall see what I can do.

Yours, DF AGEE

158

A few things to think about Mr. Agee, and for those in similar situations:

1. If you have a limited budget for fees, be upfront with the attorney about the same. People are too cautious about this in my opinion. If you tell the attorney, they know what they have to work with, and if it can be do-able within that budget, or what they may be able to do for the budget. An even smaller step can be to set forth an initial budget for an evaluation or recommendation so that you can see if you want to proceed with the attorney and their recommendation and ask for fee estimates on their recommendations.

2. When the titles are complicated over the years by assignments and related, the litigation route most often takes the course of a quiet title action. We are increasingly seeing issues with companies assigning leasing which when the leases date back to the 1950's or so, then you often need a quiet title to clear off any old names, and figure out who the real players are.

3. The issues for any quiet title or litigation case may need to focus on the lease terms and/or the implied covenants. I would pay attention to your facts as the issues relate to those rules. Also, you should always be mindful of statute of limitation issues which may either hurt or help your case or situation.

Hope that helps!

The information is for general information purposes only. This should not be substituted for legal advice and should not be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or reading does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. You are encouraged to contact an attorney for legal advice concerning the information provided.