MINERAL RIGHTS – BETTER UNDERSTAND THEM!

Posted by Tom Martino at 1:46 pm 78 Comments Print

If you own the mineral rights beneath your property, no one can dig, drill or mine for those minerals without first buying those rights or leasing those rights from you.

Beware! If you lease or sell your rights, you could be devaluing your property substantially. That’s because the mineral rights you grant to others could prevent (or severely limit) the land from being used for any other purpose!

Also … if someone already owns the mineral rights under land, know the terms and conditions before buying it! You may buy land and not be able to use it the way you want. A word on surface rights … when someone owns mineral rights, they do not automatically own surface rights. In other words, they can’t simply go on the property and set up a drilling rig. They need the land owner’s authorization. Or they need to get surface rights from a neighbor to drill diagonally or horizontally.

The message here is simple … have a title company examine your property and make sure you understand your mineral and surface rights!

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