What do typical royalties look like?

We inherited some mineral rights from a great great grandparent. We leased them about a year ago and now have received offers to purchase. This has come at a good time for us financially, but we don’t want to make a mistake. Land is in Union and Washington Districts, we own very small amounts. What could a typical royalty check look like? We can be patient if has the potential to be worth more than a payout.

How many acres do you own?

We have a 5/144 interest in 47.9 gross acres, equaling 1.66 net acres. That’s from the lease. We’re interested in possibly selling, but if it has the potential to earn royalties down the road we are content to wait.

It would probably benefit you most if you have other family members willing to sell? 1.66 acres is very small an there won’t be much of a royalty, BUT if you get others to sell (minimum) of 15 acres then you could sell and make a little better amount.

Okay, that’s interesting. I’m not sure if we can get everyone on board or not but might be worth the effort. I was offered about $4000 to purchase this amount. We received more for our lease agreement. Does that sound reasonable? I contacted two other groups to purchase it to see if I could get offers for comparison. Thanks for your input!!

Lease offers generally are less per net mineral acre price than to sell, but I have seen in the last 6 months lease offers drastically falling. Did you get anyone else on board to sell?

We are in similar circumstances, received lease payment several years ago. We pay small amount of taxes per year. What is typical turn around on residual from fracking wells? Took about 3 years on our Ohio wells.

What were your royalties like when they started coming in? Was it worth waiting three years for? We have a new offer to buy ours and I’d like to just sell it and be done, but I don’t want to cut ties if it has potential for profit. I’ve contacted the company many times for basic updates and don’t often receive responses.

Unless you are in dire shape I would wait it out. Even a small lot could pay royalties for many years. Companies are buying for a reason.

Only about 1.66 acres, but I have a Relative who I might be able to combine with, but he just has the same amount. Are the payments usually monthly when they kick in?

Yes A good well can pay monthly for many years

Any idea what that looks like $$ wise? Is there an average? Or an amount people typically see. I understand there are a lot of variances, location, acreage,etc. We are just trying to make the best decision possible and we have a decent offer now so it’s hard to be informed without an idea of royalties and it’s been impossible to find information on it.

I actually have two offers right now in front of me. That’s why we’re trying to decide to sell or not.

It varies a lot. You will probably see somewhere between $100 and $500 per acre per month, but there are so many variables that it’s impossible to say for sure. It could be less and it could (best case scenarios only) be more. Usually when I talk with people about selling I advise them to determine whether they need the money now for something that is practically life changing, or if they are in a comfortable financial position where waiting for the money will not be a burden on them. If they can wait, I recommend they wait. But if not, go ahead and sell. Bird in the hand…

Another consideration is to “ hedge “ and sell a portion and pay capital gains tax now, and invest your money in something that provides a current yield. There are several good Royalty Trusts that allow you to participate in gas & oil and receive an income immeditly. Hold the balance of your rights and receive royalty income from them when they produce… Also, may want to look at IRS Code Section 1031 for tax free treatment and re-investment…Always consult an Attorney and knowledgeable CPA BEFORE you make a decision.

Sorry, above post obviously applies to those holding more than stated Acreage of 1.66. I say don’t accept 4, hold.

I know of buyers that are buying less than the 15 acres the one gentleman mentioned above. Prices very quite a bit between buyers based on location, royalties and lease terms. Good advice to speak with an accountant as the sale of minerals is considered long term capital gains and could be at rates MUCH lower that regular income rates.
In order to figure out what your future royalties will be you have to have a crystal ball that correctly takes into consideration: pooling, timing, PRICES IN THE FUTURE, # of wells per pool, performance of individual wells etc… In general, the real buyers (as opposed to the flippers) are paying you between 80 and 85% of future cash flows discounted back for time risk and drilling risk.