We have recently approached by a land speculator who claimed we had mineral rights in 3 Kentucky coal counties. After doing the title work it in fact held true. They came from several relatives that were active in the mid to late 1800s. As it turns out they were increadibly active. We have uncovered activity in 18 other Kentucky counties and also activity in Texas, Florida, Penn, NC, NY, Ohio, Ind, Illnois, Minn, Tennessee among other states. One even founded a city in Florida. In most cases they severed the mineral rights. In some states they set up land trusts. While this is a great problem to have, it is also one that I am finding out is much greater than anything I can do on my own. My question is are there individuals out there who specialize in helping pull issues like this together? If so, what are the rates and/or how much do you usually have to give up? Thank you in advance for your help.
I would call a large land broker. They might have landmen all over the US that would be able to help you get this done is some sort of reasonable time frame. TS Dudley, Continental Land Services are two that come to mind (I don't know how big either of those actually are). If you go to the AAPL's website (landman.org) that would be a good place to start.
Thanks Stephen, I will look into and let you know what I find out.