[Durham INC] Homes sold in Durham minus mineral rights -- Fracking to come?

[Will Wilson]

this response from Gary Berman (does real estate law):

Hi, Will.  In a state in which the ground contains valuable minerals, it's
common for sellers to retain the mineral rights when conveying land.
Occasionally, when deeds for Durham property are prepared in one of those
states, the deed form contains a pre-printed clause that specifies that the
seller retains the mineral rights.

For example, the building at the southeastern corner of  Watts and Green
used to be a Mormon church.  The property was sold to Beth El Synagogue.
Coming from the Mormon organization, the deed to Beth El was
(not surprisingly) prepared in Utah, and the deed contains a clause that
reserves the mineral rights for the seller.

Such clauses have been rare in this part of North Carolina.

But you asked for insight.  I don't have much of that.  However, I wonder
how mortgage lenders will react when they find out that the proposed
collateral for a loan doesn't include mineral rights.  And I'm curious
about how much the reservation of mineral rights will affect the value of
real estate.


On 4/12/2012 4:11 PM, Melissa Rooney wrote:
> I don't understand much about this mineral rights stuff. Soil and Water
> Conservation Board member Danielle Adams knows quite a bit more, but I was
> unable to talk for very long to her. I understand she may be speaking at an
> upcoming INC meeting...? This would be excellent for many reasons: stormwater
> problems, fear of fracking, mineral rights (which apparently are being sold for
> very little -- far less than they should be worth), etc.
>
> I just wanted to raise the red flag by passing this information to everyone I know.
> I can barely keep up with what's going on in my household these days, so I hope
> that, together, we can all stay informed and prevent catastrophic decisions by
> our local and state gov'ts...
>
> Melissa
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From:* "TheOcean1 at aol.com"<TheOcean1 at aol.com>
> *To:* kjj1bg at yahoo.com; mmr121570 at yahoo.com
> *Cc:* inc-list at rtpnet.org; durhamenviro at yahoogroups.com
> *Sent:* Thursday, 12 April 2012 1:12 PM
> *Subject:* Re: [Durham INC] Homes sold in Durham minus mineral rights --
> Fracking to come?
>
> *It's been a good number of years since I took the pre-license Real Estate
> class, and maybe the curriculum has changed. What I recall is the statement,
> "from the core of the earth to the highest heavens", or something to that effect.*
> **
> *I just re-read the Offer To Purchase contract, and the words "Mineral Rights"
> aren't mentioned anywhere. I've read a bunch of articles, and watched the
> youtubes, and in one the fellow says that folks find out about it at the closing
> table - and just want to close!*
> **
> *Since Realtors are surely going to take blame, it would be very nice to know
> how we can prevent it. I suspect if this were to happen at one of my closings,
> I'd tear up every piece of paperwork on the table. But even that won't effect
> the guy a few blocks away who sold his rights to a company capable of drilling
> sideways.
>
> **Bill Anderson*
> REALTOR
> (919)***282-8209*cell
>
>
> www.FrankWardRealtors.com<http://www.frankwardrealtors.com/>
>
> (919) 688-5811 Office
> (919) 688-2094 Fax
> theOcean1 at aol.com
> In a message dated 4/11/2012 7:45:13 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> kjj1bg at yahoo.com writes:
>
>      Melissa,
>      Is this not being disclosed to buyers? Are we now going to have to purchase
>      mineral rights separately from land/home? Could cities or counties prohibit
>      this?
>
>      Sent from my iPhone. Take typos and autocorrect errors lightly please.
>
>      On Apr 10, 2012, at 6:30 PM, Melissa Rooney<mmr121570 at yahoo.com
>      <mailto:mmr121570 at yahoo.com>>  wrote:
>
>>      This really worries me, so I wanted to share the info with those who I
>>      know care about what goes on beyond their personal property lines:
>>
>>      Currently, houses in Durham are being sold minus the mineral rights ...
>>      this is scary wrt the possibility of Fracking and who knows what else.
>>
>>      See the links below. And please keep your eyes open for any information
>>      pertaining to Fracking and Mineral Rights in Durham. We will likely need
>>      to make our elected officials well aware of the hazards for our county.
>>
>>      Does a Developer Sale of Mineral Rights to an Energy Company Foreshadow
>>      Fracking
>>
>>      http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/does-a-developers-sale-of-mineral-rights-to%20-an-energy-company-foreshadow-fracking/Content?oid=2970445
>>
>>
>>
>>      It is also in the Herald Sun:
>>
>>      Builder sells homes without mineral rights. It was when he was
>>      finalizing the purchase of his new home in Durham last month that
>>      Danny Conyers first heard the words "mineral rights" brought up. [You
>>      may need to register to view this article.]
>>
>>      http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/18181034/article-Builder-sells-home
>>      s-without-mineral-rights
>>
>>      Here is a link to a video about Fracking in NC (by Durham resident Tina
>>      Motley Pearson for Clean Water for NC):
>>
>>      Fracking for Natural Gas in NC... Can it Happen Here?
>>
>>      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsrVF-DVFz4
>>
>>
>>      --Melissa (Rooney)
>>
>>      _______________________________________________
>>      Durham INC Mailing List
>>      list at durham-inc.org<mailto:list at durham-inc.org>
>>      http://www.durham-inc.org/list.html
>      =
>
>      _______________________________________________
>      Durham INC Mailing List
>      list at durham-inc.org
>      http://www.durham-inc.org/list.html
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Durham INC Mailing List
> list at durham-inc.org
> http://www.durham-inc.org/list.html

-- 
http://www.biology.duke.edu/wilson/
New Book: http://www.constructedclimates.org/