Here is my background - I have been in IT for 20 years. I have been in HVAC for 1. I am not out of work, however, I do not like what I do for a living. I have suffered more bs than I ever thought I would have to.
I was contacted by my brother-in-law, that my great great grandmother purchased some land 60 years ago, but never let go of the mineral right. In fact, I have no idea if she has even more stuff hidden that we might discover. I got found by a land man and pi.. Who'd a thought.
I do not have a pot to pee in.. so to speak.. However, I will live under a bridge before I hand minerals rights for nothing in Dimmit county.
Here is what I know, I have 25% of 80 acres in mineral rights only. That apparently a very wealthy family owns and they want to buy both my sister and me out. meaning they want full control of surface and minerals.
My sister and I were offered 200k for these rights. I was never spoken to, which upsets me.
I've been in the corporate world for many years in IT.. these Oil Tycoons.. im at a loss. So, basically, I don't know what to do. What I think I am going to do is, do what I do and fold and not play. I just assume sit on the mineral rights and let them die with me or pass them down as well.
I don't know guys and ladies. I just assume burn the house down before I get stolen from. I know, I have a very small piece of a huge pie.
So, the point of this topic is so that I might get a couple of really smart people contact me. Hope to hear from ya because I have many things to speak about.
you don't sound retarded to me. My family has been sitting on some mineral rights since 1948 and we still gottem. Gonna keepem. Unless you're desperate for money, keep those minerals. 'That's my opinion and I'm sticking with it.'
Chris,
you might want to join the Dimmit County Group. There are 43 members in that group and someone there might share their leasing experience with you and your sister and help you get a good lease. I think Dimmit County has some drilling activity going on right now. Good luck.
Mike, what I understand as common sense is if you have mineral rights. No matter how much short term money you throw at me and not matter how dire straights I am in. "You do not sell your mineral rights."
I want to be part of the team and sure, I want a part of the action. My great great grandmother or father did this for a reason. I am pretty sure they did it because they knew something. She would be like 130 yrs old now.. i have no idea. However, she was a smart lady when she sold the property.
My minerals are in Wilbarger County(Vernon)in the northwest part of Texas. We're a world apart. You can't be too far from LAREDO. Don't sell those minerals. Lease them. Period.
Thanks Clint! Every time I hear someone say "Don't do it" It just strengthens my resolve with my sister to be able to tell her "You do this, you screw us both and our family" I still will have my 20 acres, but together we have 40 in prime land. I just got to keep her from doing the short term money grab.
My father and now myself, have been sitting on mineral rights in South Central Texas since 1945. I have recently been contacted by intities wanting to lease my rights. All these years of waiting seem like they are beginning to pay off. Don't sell. Lease.
Yeah, the new "Fracting technique:" sorry about spelling apparently is making these old mineral rights very valuable now. The more I keep reading, the more excited I am getting. However, tomorrow, I am still going to have to climb into someones attic or crawl space and get back to work. I intend on doing it with a smile on my face.
You mentioned contact from a landman, was that an offfer buy your minerals or lease? If that kind of money was offered to to buy, the possibilities for leasing and future royaltys is what you should be looking into. Don't just hold them, investigate turning them into income.
You said you had a background in IT. Fire up that computer and research, research, research!
Chris- just your 20nma (.25 of 80) can be worth $100,000 just to LEASE (20ac x $5000/ac) - Dimmit has lotsa hot spots that are worth this. Follow up on a lease quick, cause if they went thru the trouble to track you down, then they already know more than they are letting on. Find out where your acres are. EOG and others have said that 5000+ barrels oil per acre are recoverable - so thats $10mil worth on your 20ac - do the math, you're a computer guy!; starting to see how much it's really worth? 200k offer is a joke compared to this!! tell sister not to give away $10mil for 200k.
P.S. - hang in there on the HVAC work; the real money is in commercial systems controls - that right, computers! My buddy got his hvac lic, did 1 year of 'grunt' work (what youre doing now), then moved up to commercial controls - I had to help teach and tutor him on computer and network stuff; none of the 'old hvac experts' know about computers, so now he (29yo) is making more than all them because he was intersted to learn about the computer controls stuff. good luck~!
Chris, everyone here is giving you exceptional advice on NOT SELLING your minerals! Start with contacting the county recorders to get a copy of your great-grandmothers mineral deed and/or if she owned and then sold the surface you might want to get a copy of the deed conveying the surface since, that should clarify how many mineral acres she kept for herself when she sold it.
This sounds like it will be well worth your time and effort to research everything going on in your section and the sections adjacent to you! Encourage your sister to help and read the replys as well as, to post her own questions.
Good luck to you and your sister, sounds like your great-grandmother was a very wise lady!!
Thank you and everyone else that has provided me information and a direction to take on these matters. We are currently shopping around for a leasing opportunity. We finally have gotten a hold of the deed, so things are getting a little easier to wrap our heads around this opportunity.
Your sister may have been the executor of the estate so she may do the "talking, negotiating etc. " You both may need an attorney if you sell the rights. An oil and gas attorney. They will not charge you up front. They will negotiate a deal for you and take a few thousand up front, no more than 5 percent usually. If you are in Dimmit County this may be worth a lot more. You can get a lease payment now, and get royalty payments for 20 years depending on the oil bubbling out of that ground. EVERYONE wants to buy mineral rights. You would be dumber than a box of rocks to sell them. EVER. Go to the eagleford forum (google it) and check out the sales and percentages. What is the plat number? I can look some stuff up for you.
You should be able to get a copy of the deed from www.texasfile.com without going down there. It might cost you a few bucks but it would save you a trip to the court house!