Comment

Comment by elliemae82 on January 13, 2013 at 1:48am

Anyone?  I'm going to the Court House in Ashtabula County. Can anyone tell me what office to go to and what I have to do to start checking for old gas leases? Will there be anyone to help me or are you pretty much on your own? Thanks

Comment by Brad on December 6, 2012 at 2:44pm

A title company, or yourself, can do certain things as it relates to researching your chain of title.  However other things, such as an affidavit of forfeiture or an affidavit of non-compliance, require  an attorney.....unfortunately.  If O&G companies would just do their job and "release" expired leases like their suppose to, it would make life much easier and less costly for the landowner.  It is frustrating that entering into a new lease could be held up by a stinkin lease that expired 20 years ago.  I think most O&G companies are aware of the fact that there are a lot of expired leases out there that haven't been properly released; they enter into lease in-spite of this after performing their "due diligence".  So as a landowner you have to ask the question, "Should I pay costly attorney fees to remove expired leases from my property, or should I simply let the O&G companies perform their "due diligence" and deal with any discrepancies at that point?"  This short excerpt was from an Ohio law firms website.

 "Many landowners also have problems getting a lessee to file a release of an expired lease, even though all parties agree the lease has terminated.  Landowners should consider using Ohio’s lease forfeiture/cancellation statute, which allows the landowner to serve a certified letter upon the lessee seeking to declare the lease void.  In the event the lessee does not file an affidavit opposing the lessor’s claim in the Recorder’s Office within 60 days of such notice, then the landowner has the ability to request the Recorder to stamp the lease forfeited by operation of law. 

In the event the lease has expired more than five years ago, typically the landowner can file an Affidavit of Non Compliance setting forth the fact that the lease has expired.  The Affidavit of Non Compliance is quicker than the lease forfeiture process discussed above, as it simply serves as evidence that the lease has expired but does not cancel the lease.  Unlike the forfeiture process, the Recorder will not stamp the lease forfeited."

 

Comment by elliemae82 on December 6, 2012 at 12:20pm

Brad, The gentlemen from Chicago Title said we may hire them direct to do all title work which would be cheaper than going through a lawyer and paying both of them.

He also said we may do it on our own if we had the time. But I don't know the process. Maybe someone else would like to chime in and help us out .

Comment by Rick on December 6, 2012 at 12:16pm

Ronaround,

Bob was vague at best.  He did not specify an area.  What I caught was that there are some areas of the Clinton/shallow wells that the seismic testing indicated have more potential.  Assuming he (Bob) knows the whereabouts, as do multiple drilling companies.  Could only hope there's more icing on the cake....

 

Comment by Dan on December 6, 2012 at 10:15am

It's clear if you have an old lease it better be properly released or you will have trouble. There are ways to do this even though the company might be out of business. It might be that the lease is invalid because the terms of the old lease have not been met.  It looks like you still need to do a proper release. I found out when i did a conservation easement  some time back that i needed to clear some old leases to get the easement to go through.

if you still have a mortgage that might cause trouble as well ,  as you will need the mortgage company to sign off in some cases. That should be easy to find out and take care of ahead of time don't be surprised if they want some $ to do it.

Some of this takes time to get cleared up and if you get a rejection letter you might get 60 days to clear up any problems. It it might take you longer than that to get clear and that's when you are in jeopardy with you bonus money.

Comment by Brad on December 6, 2012 at 3:51am

Was not at meeting, but in regarding to the following comment by elliemae:

"He and a gentlemen from Chicago Title could not stress it enough how important it is to make sure your title is clear of any old leases in advance."

What exactly were they implying?  Most chains of title of have some kind of lease attached to it at some point.  In most cases these leases have clearly expired.  Were they implying that even expired leases should be cleared?  Often times this can be difficult and expensive to do, especially if companies will not "release"(because they're so backed logged) and the landowner has to resort to an affidavit of non-compliance or something of that nature.  I just don't see how an old lease  that has clearly expired can inhibit one's ability to lease.  Any insight is appreciated.

Comment by Joseph-Ohio on December 6, 2012 at 1:33am

HB 537:

Kill the Bill.

Comment by Joseph-Ohio on December 6, 2012 at 1:16am

HB 537:

Go to this link and read what's already been and being discussed:

http://gomarcellusshale.com/forum/topics/hb-537-urbanized-area-in-w...

Comment by Joseph-Ohio on December 6, 2012 at 1:14am

HB 537 - An Intrusive And Obstructionist Bill being discussed in the Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee now.

Write the Committee Members and tell them to throw it out.

Read the Bill and see what you think.

This is a 'Red Alert' in my books.

Comment by Ronaround on December 6, 2012 at 12:52am

Rick:

localized in what respect. only limited certain areas? Areas such as Cherry Valley,Dorset, Pierpont or farther to the west? I know south of rt.6 they got some leases with Blackridge.

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