I recently received a cold call about mineral rights I did not know I inherited in Young County Texas. The call came from a holdings company. They informed me I am an owner of the rights and offered to buy them for $4500.00. I know absolutely nothing about this type of stuff. I gave them my address to obtain more information. 2 days later I received a FedEx envelope with paperwork they want me to sign and return, agreeing to the sale. They seem to be in a big hurry to get this done. Right now I am suspicious as to their motives. Also, are there tax implications? Any info would help.
Slow down and investigate. If somebody called you and said they found out you owned a house somewhere and offered to buy it for a price, then you wouldn’t sell it until you knew the details. You would want to know location, size of house, value on the market, is it being rented, etc. Not exactly the same, but you want to find out the value, is it producing, is there money in suspense. You now have the legal description. You should contact an attorney or a professional landman to figure out what is going on. The price may be a good deal or a bad deal. But you need to figure out what you own before you sell it or enter into a contract to sell.
Definitely slow down and get more information. The more they rush you, the more they know as they plan to make a profit off of you. Your gut feeling is probably correct.
Young County has over 35,000 wells, so the first thing to do is to check the TX Treasurer’s office for unclaimed funds under your ancestor’s name and your name. If your ancestor lived in another state, check there.
You can post a question in Young County, TX area on the forum about drilling and activity on the abstract that is in your paperwork. A local person or one of the pros will be able to help you see a map to get a feel for your area. We need the name and number. There are 44 new permits in Young County, so you would want to know if one is on your acreage or near you. Most offers come because drilling is pending. Your acreage is probably in the Barnett Oil Play.
Ask the agent how many net acres they think you own and why do they think you own it and who did you inherit from. Make no comments about your decision one way or the other. You could ask them what their top dollar offer is. (My experience is that early offers tend to be low just to see who will bite.)
There could be tax implications for capital gains depending on you regular income bracket. They would be calculated on the value of the minerals as of the date of death of your ancestor and what you sell for. The difference may be taxed.
If you have no real need to sell, then just say thank you and sit back and see what happens.
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Thanks. Good advise. It’s just common sense really. Doing some investigating was my plan. Getting on this forum was my first step. The VP of the company is a landman according to some stuff I have been reading. There is very little info on the company. They must know something after all these years. They did their research though. Just finding me and my phone number took some work. I keep a very low profile. I’m not on any social media, and have never been. My great uncle was the original owner. He died back in 1968. I don’t know why my previous relatives didn’t pursue this before they died. I really don’t have much money to spend on doing research and am hesitant to do so on a potentially nothing case. Thanks for your response.
Thank you. That is some great advise and information
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