I know it has been said many times, “don’t hand over the signed lease until you have the money in hand”, but….the terms of the lease we are being offered gives the company 45 days “due diligence” in which to remit payment. We have dealt with this particular landman in the past and payment has been prompt as soon as they receive the leases and required documentation.
The only other option I know of is to pay a lawyer to hold the signed leases until payment has been made. To do everything absolutely correct, we’d be paying out the majority of our benefits to the lawyer! Does everyone spend that much money to protect their payment? We did hire an attorney to review the lease and shared the cost between family members. That worked as we are all signing the same lease.
But you hired an attorney to review the lease, that took a larger chunk of your “benefits”? An attorneys billable time to “hold” the signed lease in exchange for payments would be less than 15 minutes of billable time. If you have worked with this landman in the past and everything worked out well, Im not sure why you would hire an attorney to review and sign the same oil and gas lease and then hire him to collect payment? Its quite simple, send the landman the lease with a COPY stamp on it and deliver him the original signed lease upon payment via email and mail.
Landmen with a RPL or CPL designation have an ethical code they need to abide by to keep their certification. The land industry is a very small circle and reputations matter between landmen. It may help ease the mind a little bit if you work with a landman with an RPL or CPL. Also, leases are not a valid document if there is no payment made within a reasonable timeframe, so you have legal grounds to get paid or get your lease back.
I make the decisions for a family group of 7 people who own small shares of inherited mineral rights. We pitched in to pay for the lease review and I received some very good advice! This lawyer would hold my lease. But not the other 6 because I am the one who contracted with him.
I think I am devoting too much time worrying about it!
Our bank will do the hold for $50.00. It is the same process they use to exchange car titles on out od state sales. They keep the title to the car until the payment arrives. Have been doing this for 40 years, and those guys are “Resellers.” They get your lease and try and Resell it at a higher price. My father called them ‘Bird Dogs.” They stir up the pigeons for the big guys. I would rather be pooled than fight with a preson for payment. it has been my experience, that an attoreny holding the lease will not help you if no payment arrvies. Seller beware. Right now we are dealing with a Caddo County Landsman that won’t tell us who is wanting the lease. He says, “You have your attorney drew up the lease, and we will “LOOK” at it. No thanks. Been had to many times.
Hello there, what Caddo County Landman are you dealing with that mentioned that? From what company? I had a similar one tell me the same thing recently.