Randy Young has a website called landmaninsider or something like that. He is young (everybody seems young to me) and smart. The kind of guy who you want to lend a helping hand to.
On his blog, he mentioned about some brokers giving their landmen tests. I have been doing it for years. Not really a test, test, but more of a competency exam to see if their skill set fits in with my needs.
I thought that it might be revealing to landmen and landowners alike to look over this "entrance" exam to see if you understand mineral rights and title. Most do not. Honestly. What is oftentimes more revealing is the response from the applicant when they make a zero. One guy said that he was not familiar with the new cases. The cases in question were decided in 1928, 1942 and 1986. Another person, a female, made a zero also. She purported to have 13 years experience and when I asked her how she felt about her title for the past 13 years, she could not care less. It would be cleaned up in title examination, she said. ( I guess that a pushup bra and a v neck tee works on some hiring authorities).
So, let's play a game. It's short. Anyone can play. Put you name and your answers in a response to this e-mail and in a couple of weeks, I will tell the answers (if anybody tries the test). Remember, if you are wrong, you lose your job as a landman and your broker loses his ticket.
Here we go.
John and Mary Black owned 640 acres in Dimmit County, Texas. Surface and Minerals. No assumption, I am giving that as fact. We will call it Blackacre Ranch.
DOCUMENT 1
John and Mary Black conveyed Blackacre on June 4, 1955 to Lyndon and LB Johnson, husband and wife. Here is how the conveyance and reservation read:
For valuable consideration, John and Mary Black, husband and wife, (Grantors) does hereby by these presents set over, grant, sell and convey to Lyndon and LB Johnson (Grantee) Blackacre Ranch, being described as the entire Blackacre Survey, Abstract 123, Dimmitt County, Texas.
Further, Grantors do hereby reserve 1/2 of the minerals in the lands described herein.
DOCUMENT 2
On November 3, 1960 Lyndon Johnson, et ux conveys Blackacre Ranch. The conveyance and reservation read:
For valuable consideration, Lyndon and LB Johnson, husband and wife, (Grantors) does hereby by these presents set over, grant, sell and convey to David and Lucy Eisenhower (Grantee) Blackacre Ranch, being described as the entire Blackacre Survey, Abstract 123, Dimmitt County, Texas.
Further, Grantors do hereby reserve 1/2 of the minerals in the lands described herein.
DOCUMENT 3
On November 21, 1985 David and Lucy Eisenhower conveys Blackacre Ranch. The conveyance and reservation read:
For valuable consideration, David and Lucy Eisenhower, husband and wife, (Grantors) does hereby by these presents set over, grant, sell and convey to Bob and Tom Kennedy (Grantee) Blackacre Ranch, being described as the entire Blackacre Survey, Abstract 123, Dimmitt County, Texas.
Further, Grantors do hereby reserve 3/4 of the minerals in the lands conveyed herein.
More Information.
David and Lucy Eisenhower had one child, Bower. Bower was married but once, to Jane Eisenhower.
David died on May 1, 1990 and left a will, leaving everything to Lucy.
Bower and Jane had three children. Huey, Dewey and Louie. Neither party had more, all children being the product of their union.
Bower had emotional issues and he died under suspicious circumstances in an opium den in the Chinatown area of Houston on September 24, 1993. His body was found by Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown.
Bower had a valid will and left everything to his wife, Lucy. The boys, Huey, Dewey and Louie were all over the age of 18 at the death of poor Bower.
Lucy Eisenhower, disgraced by the desecration of the Eisenhower name by Bower, lost her mind and was sent to the State Hospital in Rusk. She lived until she was 77 and passed peacefully, holding a teddy bear. Her death was April 15, 2008. She died intestate.
Whom do you buy a lease(s) from on the 640 acres and what is their decimal ownership and how many net acres do they hold? You are paying $444.44 per net mineral acre for a 3 year paid up lease. You need to order the checks. If you mess up, you are fired.
By the way, all my people can pass this with ease. They have progressive experience, which to me means that they do not have 30 years of experience, the same 5 years of experience 6 times over. They have learned and continue to grow. We have learning sessions every other week. If you don't want to learn, you cannot work for me.
There are no trick questions. Just situations that you find everyday in the field. Don't draw any crazy assumptions. There are none. Everything happened in Texas. Everybody else is still alive. No homestead is, or every has been, involved.
This is a heck of a lot easier than part 2 of the entrance exam.
So, the answer is.....