What does it mean if a land man tells you they are having issues with mineral Title Opinion when they have made an offer to purchase and you have signed a document agreeing to sell
Means they are having an attorney determine the mineral ownership and it is taking longer than expected. It is also sometimes used as an excuse to buy more time. Some mineral buyers flip these minerals and this could indicate that they are having a hard time closing with the buyer before funds are paid to you. Did you already sign a deed? Did you sign a document that specifies how long they to pay? Do you want out?
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Never deliver a deed without payment. (A draft looks like a check but isn’t) A contract to purchase should have a closing date.
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I’m just curious what they are looking to verify
I just spoke to A clerk at the court clerks office to see what the problem was. She pulled up the records for me with no problem showing it was in my name.
She informed me that a 3 page document filed back on 5/2/1985 showing I had Title
There could be something in your chain of title that the attorney found that the buyer didn’t know about when they approached you, and they’re trying to figure out how to fix the problem. Companies will often have a landman run title to find owners quickly and make offers contingent upon verification of title. They won’t cut you a check until their sure the title is clear, or until the buyer decides they’re willing to assume whatever risk the attorney found and continue with the sale. It could also meant the attorney just isn’t done with the Title Opinion yet also. When they say they are verifying title, that doesn’t mean just locating a deed into you, it means verifying the person who sold to you owned what they sold and so on and so forth until they get back to the State of Oklahoma. When they get a title opinion, they’re not just verifying your chain of title, they’re verifying everyone’s. Depending on the complexity of the title chain, it could take a couple of weeks to a few months. Also, everyone else’s replies are possible valid reasons in addition to what I’ve written. If you really want to know what the problem is, ask the landman to be more specific as to what they’re verifying. They could also be doing leasehold title and surface at the same time, which just makes the process longer.
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Often the issue is a broken link in the chain of title due to the lack of a probate of an estate. This can often be easily fixed. If that is a case take a look at:
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There is certainly a possibility that you’re being given the runaround. There are companies and people who will sign a contract to buy the minerals (with no escrow money) and then try to flip the minerals to another buyer. Buy for x, sell for y. If they’re unable to sell, then they will let the contract lapse. With no money down, it is not a financial loss to the buyer under the contract.
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