Hey all I could use some help.
My sister, brother and myself have mineral rights in OK passed down by our father. We are being approached with an offer to sell our rights @ $750.00 an acre. The company is "Central Pacific Land" . They have mailed us paperwork. An offer letter with details of the deal and a Deed transferring out rights to this company.
They want us to sign over the deed have it notarized and send back to them. They will then do a "Marketable title search" to verify what we have rights too and then send us certified funds.
I am uncomfortable signing over deed up front and sending to them. The company stationary has no phone number. We only have a cell number from the company Land-man. A search of the company address's show a mail box rental at a pack n' ship store and a single family residence in a OK city suburb.
Anyone who can advise us on what the process is for selling mineral rights, refer a reputable company or how we can educate our self's on what is going on in this area of OK would be much appreciated !
Thanks,
Paul
You are wise to be cautious and your suspicions well founded.
The decision whether to sell or not is a different question all together, but depending on how many acres you have you should probably solicit more than one offer rather than simply accepting the first one to cross the transom.
Thereafter, you need a verifiable way to confirm the identity and honesty of the buyer. Assistance of a trusted attorney is almost certainly needed here.
Good luck
Do not sell to a group like this. What is the section township and range again? oe doesn't work. You may not want to sell at all. Let's do a bit more research. You were smart to be wary.
Hey Paul, You are so right. Don't sign that deed until you have a landman run the records and verify your mineral ownership and have an attorney review everything. Marketable title search is quick and cheap, but not the best way to verifying title. I use Attorney Charles McBride in Stillwater, OK # 405-624-9990 and he recommends Landman Monte Hoffman phone # 405-842-1930 with Easton Land Services.
The essence of the Marketable Title Act is simply this. If a person has a record chain of title for 40 years, and no one else has filed a notice of claim to the property during the 40-year period, then all conflicting claims based upon any title transaction prior to the 40-year period are extinguished.
According to Tulsa Law Review: "It should be pointed out here that "marketable record title" as defined by the acts is not necessarily a commercially marketable title; it is not necessarily a title which a vendor under a contract of sale could force on the vendee in an action for specific performance of the contract. This distinction
exists because of two inherent limitations in all marketable record title legislation: (1) the acts cleanse a title only of preroot- of-title interests and defects and do not clear the title of post-root-of-title interests and defects; and (2) the acts provide for certain exceptions to their operation." http://digitalcommons.law.utulsa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1218&context=tlr&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bing.com%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dmarketable%2Btitle%2Bact%2Boklahoma%26qs%3DAS%26pq%3Dmarketable%2Btitle%2Bact%2Boklahoma%26sc%3D1-29%26sp%3D1%26cvid%3De60f3ff1d35a4c63883805947d111b61%26FORM%3DQBLH#search=%22marketable%20title%20act%20oklahoma%22
Thank you Martha very helpful !
Paul, I believe the OK Marketable Title Act only requires 30 years period instead of 40. Also, $750 sounds really low. You know you can lease and/or participate with your mineral interest. You may want to examine all your options before you sell.
Tell your relatives to hold up and not sell right now. You could make more money by leasing.
Very helpful. Thanks so much for your time. ;-)
Good advise Thanks so much !
I own only 5 acres in Lincoln county but has a well and I get a check almost every month. Is your mineral rights leased? Lincoln county has quite a lot of drilling activity even with the slow down in energy prices. Anyone wanting to buy your rights plans to make a lot more than they are offering you. With horizontal drilling they can drill 6-8 wells in a section eventually and if you have only a small amount it could add up to a lot of future income.
Thanks. A current lease my dad signed prior to his passing is up in January. We have found out drilling is happening within one mile of our property. We own 26 acres from original 180 homesteaded back in 1900. We all live on west coast so figuring out what is really happening is difficult. Thanks so much for your reply.
Paul
Paul, friend me and I will send you some websites where you can keep an eye on things.
Done . Much appreciated sir.
EVERYONE HAS BEEN SO HELPFUL. THANKS SO MUCH TO ALL !
US KIDS HAVE A HAND WRITTEN DIARY FROM OUR GREAT GRANDMOTHER (GRAND NANA). IN IT SHE WRITES ABOUT THE DAY OF THEIR OKLAHOMA LAND GRAB. EVERYONE LINED UP WITH THEIR HORSES AND WAGONS WITH STEAKS IN HAND TO CLAIM THEIR LAND. A CANNON WAS SHOT AND EVERYONE TOOK OFF LIKE LIGHTNING TO STEAK THEIR CLAIM. I BELIEVE IT WAS SEPT 28th 1891. I WAS BORN THAT DAY 66 YEARS LATER. :-) KEEPING THIS PART OF OUR FAMILY HISTORY AND DOING THE RIGHT THING ALL THESE YEARS LATER IS IMPORTANT TO US. THANKS AGAIN TO ALL !
Paul, my Great Grandfather also participated in the OK Land Rush. You may have already found this, but here is a link to 1903 township maps in what became Lincoln and other counties: You can start here for history of the land rush, names and maps: http://www.okgenweb.org/~land/
Or you can go directly to Lincoln County where names are listed, and actual maps are provided from 1903 with names inserted in the sections. You click on the township name to pull up the maps: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~oklincol/first_names.html
Sharyn
Wow. our Great Grand Nana's maiden name was Johnson. Two on the list. Very exciting. Thanks so much.
Our Ownership is shown as N/E of Section 34, Township 15 North, Range 05 East.
Found out it is currently leased by my now deceased father.Lease is up in January 2016. My sister spoke to someone at oil company that holds current lease. They will not be renewing lease, but said there is drilling within a mile of us ???
Paul, The low oil prices are financially hurting many companies. They don't have the cash to renew leases. Oil prices are expected to go up in 2017. Some believe it will go to $100 then settle around $80.