Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Brian V. on December 17, 2011 at 6:11am

Kim D.

 

I feel for you and the situation you are in now. because of all of this drilling activity I have self taught myself around a recorder of deeds office and would like to give you some advice to save you some money.

 

1st, you should go to the county recorders office and research your current deed. Then read it to see if there is a reservation by a previous owner of the oil, gas and/or minerals. Also, look for a reference to an oil and gas lease. Make notes of any you find and write down the deed book (DB) and page (PG) #'s. Also, look for the DB/PG referencing where the Grantor (who you bought the property from) obtained the property. Most times the previous conveance for your property will be referenced in your deed. If it is not you will have to reference the Grantor/Grantee Books that list all transactions by name, date, and DB/PG. 

 

Follow our property title chain back to the owner when the supposed lease was signed. Then check the Grantor book for that owner name and a reference to him or her and an oil and gas lease around that time period. Most clerks office staff are very helpful and willing to help. Also, there are countless abstractors in the county offices researching title for various oil and gas companies, and if you smile and say please most will be happy to assist you or point you in the right direction. You may ultimately only find a memorandum of lease filed. (a memorandum is a short form that just states that a lease was entered into and gives only the lessor, lessee, date, and property info) But, that will be start for you.

 

It seems that if you truly are HBP and have owned the property since 1999 you should have received a royalty payment. Perhaps, you don't own the minerals though. That would be a very good reason to research your title yourself before hiring an attorney and wasting your money. If you do own the minerals then you are do back payments and could send a certified letter requesting a release based on falure to make payment. They would not grant a release but it would get the current lease holders attention at the very least.

 

I really hope this all works out "well" for you. The county court house can be intimidating but if you take a note pad and pencil and aren't afraid to ask for help you will get the insight you need to understand this better. I, personally got so into my research I followed my property back all the way to the 1850's and then went to the county historical society and researched the owners further. It really changed how I viewed my land and opened my eyes to how tough things were for the early settlers in these areas. Happy hunting. 

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Permalink Reply by Kim D on December 17, 2011 at 6:52am

Brian...Thank you so much for the very detailed instructions..I've received a lot of help and inspiration from fellow GMS members!  A thought has occurred to me...since Rex Energy has found this situation out (that we are part of an old unit with a producing well), do they have an obligation (perhaps legal), to forward us any and all information they know regarding old lease.  My point being, if a financial institution turns you down for a loan...they have to give you their reasons why, for an example...copies of your credit reports involved, etc.  It is just a thought...does anyone know?  I like the idea of sending a certified letter requesting release due to non-payment of royalties, of course, if we do indeed own them.   I also wonder if that could hurt us somehow.  This is all so stressful.  Brian....thank you so very much once again.  My husband went to the County Recorder's office this morning to get the ball rolling, and they were closed!

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Permalink Reply by dr j on December 17, 2011 at 11:21am

Kim- not the exact same situation but the company that had an old lease on our property still had a copy of the old lease and forwarded it to me.  Worth asking.   

I second Brian's great advice.    It took me about 20 minutes at the recorder's office to get my documents.   Our county has a really good search area on the web.  Carroll county has one too... I personally dont' think it's as user friendly but do think you can get the document # page # etc. and go with that in hand.  Of course to do so you must have the previous chain of title by name.  If the Rex folks could give you a year in which the lease was signed that would help greatly.    For me it was easy as like Brian- about 15 years ago I had already searched the recorder's office just to get a history of our farm and knew the owner progression for at least 100 years.   

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Permalink Reply by Larry Manges on December 17, 2011 at 3:34pm

  To anyone who is thinking of researching  their deed lineage at the Courthouse, might I suggest a good pair of reading glasses.    As you search back into the 1800's, the records are hand written and about the size of 6 point type.  Also some of the ink they used has turned from black to grey.  Below is a copy of the deed for my family  farm written in 1836. 

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Permalink Reply by Brian V. on December 17, 2011 at 4:29pm

I love the old hand written ones. Can you imagine the time put into this recorders job back in the day? Hand writing every documents that came across the desk. Not only are some of them hard to read because of the ink fading, but some recorders had some very fancy hand writing. It looked great but sure is hard to read at times. Then there is all the old english legal mumbo jumbo. I have no idea what an abstactor makes but is seems to be a very interesting and challenging profession.

 

Kim D. - I'd like to add that when you find the original lease in the courthouse check for notations or notices stamped or attached to it in some way. What you are looking for will be assignments of the lease and a declaration of unitization. First thing though would to ensure that you own the minerals.

 

I remember back when I bought my land I had to pay an attorney to do title to send to the mortgage company to confirm that the title was clear. After everything was signed and a deed was filed the attorney ask me if I wanted the abstract. I told her I had no use for it and declined. I guess they kept it on file but trashed it after x many years. Would have saved me a lot of time to just take that file which I had paid for.

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Permalink Reply by Kim D on December 18, 2011 at 6:42am

Thanks again, Brian...I'm taking notes!  We are keeping our fingers crossed on the mineral rights.

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Permalink Reply by Kim D on December 18, 2011 at 6:40am

At the very least, I hope we find some interesting facts on the past history of our property, I often walk our woods, and in the silence I imagine what might have been.  As I feel the battered, aged wood posts with rusty barbed wire nestled in so deep, prove that they have aged together, my mind wonders what life was like back then.  Back to your statement...a big thumbs up on reading glasses...thanks for the suggestion.

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Permalink Reply by Kim D on December 18, 2011 at 6:50am

dr j...Good suggestion, I think I will attempt to contact previous companies. Especially if Rex or EnerVest are unwilling to tell me who owns the rights. We will still attempt to find out ourselves...just maybe one of those companies will try to understand our position and lend a helping hand.

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Permalink Reply by JULIA SUDYLO on December 19, 2011 at 6:09am

Kim, I believe that you have alot of moral character and have made a good choice! Our planet is dieing because of all the pollution that we have thrown into the atmosphere and gas is much cleaner than oil. You have made a wise choice and those who criticize you have either self interest or are just plan ignorant. Stay the course you are doing right by yourself and for our future as a planet. Be strong, Julia

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Permalink Reply by Kim D on December 19, 2011 at 3:25pm

Julia...Thanks for the encouraging words.  We just received notice that they will be doing the seismograph testing on our property soon.  My husband spoke to Rex energy again today, the rep. told him that we own 100%  of the mineral rights and that there were 8 parcels involved in this old lease/unit. She informed him that we should expect a letter in the mail within two weeks with details.  A ray of hope!

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Permalink Reply by Brian V. on December 20, 2011 at 7:47am

Kim D. That is great that it appears you own 100% of the mineral rights. It seems that now you should try to obtain a copy of the oil and gas lease that came with your property, then figure out why you have not been receiving any royalty payments. Most likely the producer had not been notified in a change in ownership. Even still, it's crazy that you have owned this land and all the while it was in production and you had no clue. It seems like someone would have mentioned it to you at some point over the last 10 years, perhaps your realtor. Good luck!!

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Permalink Reply by Kim D on December 20, 2011 at 11:03am

Brian..."Appears" is the key word here for me.  I'll feel more confident once I see it in writing.  We are still trying to get a copy of the original lease agreement.   We didn't use a realtor when purchasing the land, we bought directly from the previous owner.  Nothing was attached to our deed.   It is crazy,  and it is driving us crazier right about now.  Hopefully, anyone that has read my little story here will pass it on,  if they know someone about to purchase property.  The good luck wish...thanks, I have a feeling we are going to need it.  If anyone knows of where I can find a map of pipelines here in Carroll County, I'd appreciate the information.

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