Thanks for the response Eastern Mt and Bonnie. Will keep what you said in mind Eastern Mt.
I was informed that only the paid up leases was turned over to Apache but once the leases are paid they then would be turned over to Apache. I plan to use the Wells Fargo Bank in Portland.
Since Apache now holds the leases is there a different person than the Shale people and a different bank to contact other than Wells Fargo in Portland?
They sent a bank draft and said not to take it to the bank that they would just send a check before the date it was due. Well no check and due date long passed.
So who have you talked to about this?
Does anyone know what my options are if a lease was filed in Aug. and payment has not been made?
Did you sign a Bank Draft? If so it should be payable in 90 days.
don’t know who to talk to. I did send a letter to the company demanding they release my lease but they have ignored me.
Vera, what company did you sign with? The first person to contact, it seems to me would be your Landman. He could shed some light, before you get involved with litigation. Just a thought.
J. Sepke, if you read Vera’s posts the landman told her not to place the draft with her bank because they are going to send her a check anyway. Why would the landman not want Vera to place the draft with her bank? Just because Vera placed the draft with her bank would not mean that the lessee could not cut her a check in lieu of the draft. Vera placing the draft with her bank would start a paper trail that she has demanded payment and that she has not yet been paid and start the clock running. I don’t think there is any good, honorable reason why anyone would tell Vera to not place the draft with her bank after the lease has already been recorded. If you can think of one, please let me know.
Vera T, if you have not taken the bank draft to the bank to obtain/demand payment they have FOREVER to pay you because you have not asked to be paid. Essentially you have sent them a free lease. From experience with my own problems I can suggest two things, 1) FILE AN AFFIDAVIT OF NON-PAYMENT, do it quickly, they may decide they have to pay you now or lose the lease, 2) sign the draft and take it and deposit it with your bank so the clock actually starts running. You should also send a letter with tracking demanding payment to create a paper trail. You can’t deal with them by phone unless you are recording the conversations because they can tell you anything and later there is no record so it is your word against theirs. I hope you get started quickly on getting these issues resolved because I think the faster you act the more likely for a better result for you. Every day you delay puts the resolution of this issue another day or more into the future. I think you may be better off hiring a lawyer to help you right now. If it costs $1,000 to hire a lawyer to resolve this issue and it saves you from a $50,000 lawsuit later, it would be money well spent. Sadly, mine is the voice of experience. NO REPUTABLE COMPANY WOULD TELL YOU NOT TO TAKE THE DRAFT TO THE BANK, those that tell you to send them the lease first are sleazy enough. I hope you start working on this today. You have my sympathy.
Thank you for your advice. It is very frustrating dealing with them because you really do not know what to believe. I think I will notify them that I am going to take it to the bank and present it for payment. I know that is what you are suppose to do because I have had drafts before but they kept promising to send a check to replace it.
The time period that they need to pay does not begin until your bank presents the draft for payment to their bank, so whatever amount of time you have waited already is in addition to the time of the draft. I really hope you get a paper trail built. An affidavit of non-payment would not mean you can’t lease to them, they would probably just need a ratification from you. Vera, from what you have said they have been doing very questionable things and you need to do the maximum to protect yourself now. Your lessee may never pay, and yet they have now blocked you from being able to lease to anyone else by recording the lease. They could even assign your lease to someone else and reap a tidy profit, and then you would have to sue them out of your own pocket and that will cost tens of thousands of dollars. Your lessee has clouded your title by recording the lease they have not paid for, you need to cloud their title with the affidavit of non-payment before they assign the lease to someone else. I have been/ am right where you are now. All I have warned you about has come to pass in my case. I have told you what I could have done to keep things from getting to the worst case that can happen. I didn’t act fast enough, I spent a year studying the situation. What I learned is that I could have prevented the worst from happening by immediate action, but at the time I didn’t know what to do. I hope you do not look back on this two years from now and say to yourself that you should have listened. My best wishes, sympathy and prayers go with you for I have first hand experience of what can happen to you in this situation.
J. Sepke, also my advice was to help Vera resolve her issues without costly litigation, quick action can prevent costly future litigation, that was my whole point.
The company I signed with is Montana Lease Holdings and part of my problem is that my mineral rights are only 180 acres out of 840 so my say is minimal. Thanks for the thoughts.
Vera, do you mean 180 net mineral acres? If so that is a fair amount of leverage. I can also see where a company would want to flip that many acres to someone else before having to pay you for them so they can make their profit without ever having their money tied up or at risk. Vera, it sounds like you are involved with the Other Peoples Money or no money down people of the oil industry who deceive you by saying they want to lease you when they really mean they want a free option on your acres so they can try to profit at no risk by flipping them before paying you for them. I hope you get a lawyer. I think things can be put in their proper place relatively easy right now but in 6 months that may not be so anymore. They get to keep your lease free of charge until you place the draft with your bank. If/when the draft expires, make a demand for payment, if you do not they can say you never asked. I wish you good luck.
r w kennedy—Sorry I did not make my self clear. All members of my family signed the bank draft and gave it to the bank and they sent it off and we were told to do that but my sister was told when she called to say what to do when the 90 business days are up and they said not nothing just wait for the check. My sister had been informed about demanding payment all because of the info on this forum We just didn’t know if the best way to demand payment was to call the landman /Co or have our banker call their branch bank for demand payment. But you say to send a registered letter but TO WHO. I do appreciate your info you provide and I do get most it.
I mean send a registered letter demanding payment. Phone calls aren’t a good way to create a paper trail. I know of people whose lease was recorded and they were never paid, a well was never drilled and the lease expired. They were out probably about $500 an acre that they could have leased the acreage to a legitimate lessee for. I’m obviously not getting the concept across. They have forever to pay you if you do not notify them that you expect payment. If they are telling you not to place the draft with your bank, it gives them forever to pay. Why would a legitimate lessee not want you to place the draft with your bank? They either want your lease and will pay for it or they won’t. If they already recorded your lease, why should you not want the clock running to the time they actually pay you? Even if the draft time limit ran out they could still lease from you, all it would take is for you to ratify the lease, a one page ratification. By depositing the draft in the bank or demanding payment you are not ruining things, you are just saying your lease is not free of cost and they do not have until a well is drilled or they can find a buyer that they can sell your lease to at a profit, to decide if they want it or not. Recording your lease without paying for it is not reputable. Telling you not to place the draft with your bank is not reputable. In a year or two, possibly less there could be a few wells drilled in the area and the value of your lease could double. If they have your lease and recorded and you will let them coast with it that way, don’t expect payment anytime soon.
rw- It is 90 business days, correct?
R w kennedy when you say If/when your draft expires make a demand for payment. Is making the demand for payment by calling the company or by having your bank calling the companies branch bank. which is the best way to do it.Because my sister was told to not do anything just wait for payment.