About Eric Sexton Expertise All aspects of buying and selling homes including: General real estate questions, Contracts, Negotiations, surveys, title work and general questions about mortgages. I CAN NOT GIVE LEGAL ADVICE AND WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS WHERE LEGAL ADVICE IS NECESSARY.
Experience
I have been a real estate agent for 6 years and a broker for 2 years.
Organizations National Association of REALTORS and Texas Association of REALTORS.
Expert: Eric Sexton Date: 9/20/2007 Subject: Mineral Rights in Ft. Worth
Question My son & family are selling their home in Ft. Worth. The buyer wants mineral rights. They have no idea if they have mineral rights and aren't sure how to find out. Where do they go to determine if they are currently owners of the mineral rights? Thanks!
Answer Barb,
It is likely that your son does not have mineral rights. the residential contract that is used by real estate agents does not address mineral rights. By default title companies do not insure mineral rights when they write a title insurance policy for the purchase of a home. If your son did not use a real estate agent to purchase his home, neither he nor the seller probably thought about addressing mineral rights in the contract.
You can pay a title company to do a search on mineral rights. I have never done this or been involved in this process. There are also attorneys who can help you determine that status of mineral rights.
I would start with a local title company and see what they would charge to determine the chain of title for the mineral rights.
