Well, Arnold, those leases were the start of negotiations. After my wife and I did all their searching for them they started pulling the good old tactics they are known for. After some not so friendly discussions we did not here much from them for 10 months. We then received a call from another agent. According to them the previous agent was no longer working for the company due inappropriate practices. The bad part was he supposedly took a lot of the info with him. When the new agents called they never had all the tracts we had listed. Sounds like we start all over. I told a manager who called to apologize, that the amount per acre and royalty we wanted. He said that our quote was high. I figure it is not too high for them messing up our paperwork. Well they called back a week ago and the figures, just in bonus and royalty, jumped a lot from the previous 1700/15%. Now I am sure once we talk lease language those amounts may start to dwindle. Truthfully we are sick of the oil/gas companies. My wife doesn’t even want to talk to them because of their dishonesty. Ahh, money the root of all evil!!
DT thanks for the explanation. Good luck with the negotiating. It can be a headache but they need your minerals. Mary Lee Shinn, I think that for you to find the map location you will need to do research at the courthouse. I know of some things to do from home for Ritchie but I think Doddridge does not have the older records scanned the way Ritchie does. Maybe somebody has some ideas. Or wait for the landman to dig it up.
DT, sounds like you are getting leases from Brokers. I have signed several leases with Antero, all but one from Antero in Bridgeport WV, and have been satisfied with the relationship, The only researching that I had to do was finding out if I was getting screwed or not, I researched by reading the different forums and by talking with people in Doddridge County. You learn a lot that way, some of these people have been in this business for years. No, you do not have to take crap from anyone, It certainly sounds like that you need to call the main Office in Denver.
Nancy, I’m living in Northern, Virginia, now and won’t be able to get to Doddridge until this summer. If you have any other thoughts on finding leases in Doddridge send them along. Thanks, Mary Lee Shinn
Arnold, It is different when the land agents are sitting in my living room and you are out of state. Most of the people we have talked to were out of Bridgeport except one. When they came to my home on 3 different occasions they had hardly any info and what they did have it was 40 years old. We had tons of info as far as ancestry goes and I should have never shared any with them. We were negotiating in good faith but that did not last long. I thought we were trying to “speed” up the process but that did not work out quite that way. I could have signed leases in 2012 if I wanted to get the minimal bonus and royalty. We are not in any hurry and that’s ok with us.
Mary Lee. That is not enough. I was offered a very good offer last week and I think they realize that they are going to have to start paying more. They have got a lot of the naïve signers sewed up but the ones who have held out just may get more.
DT, I agree, the whole process can be very trying. You never really feel like you can trust them because you know they are not working for you, so it never gets comfortable. The lease we signed last Spring has to do with my husband’s family and he wants nothing to do with. If I start talking about it, he gets all stressed out - so this forum is where I can let it all out!
On a much more important note. I received an email from Delegate Dan Poling today. I had emailed him and asked him to check on the Senate bill pertaining to the forced pooling. He said he did not see it anywhere on the agenda and it probably died in committee. The House Bill on forced pooling did not fly either so another win for mineral owners.
Is he oringally from Oklahoma State? Older guy? 50+ glasses? He’s a big fan of Oklahoma State University. If so he has been giving me the run around. He gives me a map about where things will go. Then after 8 maps later he has contacted my other family about there land. He keeps saying ok on the places I want things placed. Then saying a month later well the engineers changed it. Trying to say 100’ is going to make a difference. Smh. Been dealing with him about 9 months now.
DT thanks for the good news about the forced pooling bill. Until next time they try to bring it up…
My lawyer deals with Antero a lot. So instead of making new lease all the time. He an one of the head guys in Denver agreed to the lease. Only need to fill in the blanks. Like % location an etc.
Money is not the root of evil; LOVE of money is.
But you knew that.
End of sermon. 
I hope you can stand firm on your price and get it, DT!
I’m thinking it’s Richard Lyles or something. My cell delete all my contacts about a month ago.
Mike, Nope, different guy.
Never trust Landman from Antero or any other oil/gas people. Antero agreed to my lawyers lease an so far the Landman or Antero tried to change the wording. An as you know a word here a word there can change the whole paragraph. Needless to say I caught there changes. Cost them extra $500 an .5% more an if they change it again it’s gonna cost them another $500 an 1% more. So be carful. Mine is up to $3000 an 18.5% unless they messed with it again. An the pervious #'s was approved from Antero. Kinda hope they did change wording again. Lol. It’s funny cause the lawyer I have has a preapproved lease for Antero. My land guy is Chuck Robionson from Ellenboro for Antero. But I am also dealing with Richard from Bridgeport for my land. If you guys deal with him or Dave Cava need to be carful!! Dave. Cava is the brother that owns Cavas Toyota dealership. Stay safe!!
Mike Montgomery, what do you mean about your lawyer having a preapproved lease? one already agreed to for another lessor or something else?
Thanks for all the warnings, guys. We had communication with Angie DeMoss from Ellenboro. Still waiting on our attorney’s approval before starting the negotiating.
Mary Lee, I don’t know much about Doddridge except that I don’t think they have anything on computer and if you call they can’t help at all. Ritchie has 1985-2014 on computer, free search (uslandrecords.com ) and if you know the name (family name) you are looking for and approximate dates they will send you index pages for that name, $1 a page, and you look up deeds you then want to order ($1 a page, same price if you go there). If anyone has experience with Doddridge County Clerk record searching, please speak up. It can be slow going if you don’t know who owns surface now. If you do, the assessor’s office might be able to help on the phone, don’t know that. Anybody wants to ask how I did my searching please feel free but remember what I know is Ritchie. The ideas are the same but details differ.
mike. who is your Attorney ???
(Dean) Frederick Rohrig (304) 758-2114 his office is in Tyler County.
Thanks Mike, I have an Attorney in Salem, her name is Cynthia LOOMIS, just wondering if you have heard of her.
I know of her. But not personally.
Dawn, are you getting royalty checks? If production has ceased, your lease may have expired and this ratification of pooling rights may be a backdoor way to breath life into a dead horse [lease]. Not that a good lawyer could not fix that, you may not want to have to pay a lawyer thousands of dollars to do so? Not signing is the safe thing to do.
If you are receiving royalty, you may be able to negotiate a little something, a fee for signing or something.
The offer of $1 tells me this is something they want you to never be able to revoke as you might do with something which you agreed to do for free, so they need it to be permanent. Think about that.