Hello,
I have a small interest in a La Salle property. I receive a number of letters offering to purchase the mineral rights but have ignored them. I received one that I am interested in with a flat dollar offer. They includes a pre filled Mineral and Royalty Conveyance document. Spoke to them today and they said they would be willing to send a check upon proof of notary of the document, then I should send mine. How do people do this when there is a potential to be scammed in this process? What steps should I be doing to protect myself from this type of transaction other than doing an escrow etc. Seems like so much risk for me. Thank you for your input.
You are putting yourself at risk if you do that. It is much wiser to have a third party set up an escrow account and not hand over the deed until the check clears.
Richard Winblad has quite a few comments on the forum regarding those risks.
Do a search in the upper right corner and read all the horror stories of doing what you are thinking of doing. Would you sell your house this way? It is a real estate transaction and should be treated that way.
Read the La Salle County Topic area, look up your minerals on the Railroad commission site. Find out if there is pending drilling or activity in your area. If you are receiving multiple offers, that is sign that a lot folks know what is about to happen and you do not. Those offers are usually low, hoping folks will bite and walk away from their potential profit, so the buyer can get it instead. They would not offer if they didn’t think they would make money. Be very deliberate about getting informed before making a decision.