Is it possible for a lay-person to search title to an old mineral interest in Sebastian County (a professional search would be too expensive). I know the Sec, Tn, R and the book & page where our interest is listed but don't know how to trace it to see if it still stands. I was told by a land man that there has been nat gas drilling at the location for years and was given an operator's name but they said they have not drilled at that location - dead end. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks
If you know the location you should check the state regulator website and look at their maps (if provided) that can show what wells have been drilled, and possibly the production history of any wells.
It's possible, but the integrity or accuracy of the work might be iffy.
It's the bottom of the 9th, bases loaded, two away. The manager has two players available to pinch hit. One, a reserve shortstop who batted .034 during the season. The other, a reserve outfielder, who hit .333 during the season, and .400 as a pinch hitter. It is possible that the shortstop would get a hit in that situation to win the game. However, it is much more likely that the outfielder would be successful if called on to pinch hit.
"Lay-person" vs. an experienced title searcher, or one who does that for a living on a daily basis?
I think I know who would most likely come to the more accurate conclusions, or who would be more likely to strike out, or hit one out of the ball park.
I’m not a baseball fan but I get your point Dave - I’m thinking of taking a couple days vacation in Arkansas and talk to a professional in town to at least get an idea of how they go about it. Thanks for the help Dave & Kitchen
You may seek advice from a local title company. If you are just wanting the "chain of title" without any kind of commitment or certification, a title company may provide that service for a reasonable fee. A few hundred dollars might be cheaper than a few days of independent research. I cannot attest to the cost of a search and not every title company would even provide such services. A few years ago I worked for a title company that provided basic "title searches" for $100 unless it was a complex property. Mineral rights included.
A few hundred bucks would certainly be a reasonable fee and I wouldn’t mind spending some time in Ark. Thanks again
In general, indexes are available for the public to use in the Office of County Clerk. Usually called Grantor/Grantee indexes, or Seller/Buyer. Sometimes they are referred to as Direct/Indirect. Direct is the grantor/seller. Indirect is the grantee/buyer. They are usually broken out by years in hard back books, or they all may be computerized, and you punch in the names. It varies from county to county.
The object is to try and put together a chain of title. A to B. B to C. C to D, etc...
Quite often, it is harder than it seems, as people die, deeds are sometimes filed out of the chain of title, called wild deeds, etc... An owner may or may not have a will filed of record, or even have a will period. Heirships often need to be determined in the chain building process.
Your original question has caused some debate here in the past. There are those who think that anyone can show up and figure it all out, whereas I believe that it would be more than a challenge for someone who has never done it before, especially if the title gets complicated, or doesn't flow very well.
Local title companies mainly have as their emphasis, surface ownership, so I'm not so sure they will do you much good. They really aren't well trained in the interpretation of the various types of mineral related reservations, such as classifying them as an actual mineral reservation, royalty reservation, non-participating reservation, etc... Therein lies the problem. Neither is the person who has never done title research. Even if he lucks out, and pulls all the right books, he still has to figure out jargon that is not familiar to him.
Good luck.
Before I do anything I think I’ll contact some land men since they are the ones who found the interest on the books in the first place while they were doing other searches. It will be interesting and I love a good challenge. Again I appreciate the advice
That's a very good idea. Pick their brains.