According to the Register Of Deeds Office, located in the County Bldg of Howell, MI, I was told in person, (while watching the Registrar locate the huge books of Records and go through two of them that were completely handwritten and considered to be the most recent and up-to-date records regarding Deeds and ownership otherwise.) that because there are no records of an oil lease associated with our house or anyone else since the original lease in 1992, which was set to expire in three years, nor is there any reference of any mineral rights on the Deed; that they are two separate entities. (The original oil lease was brought out as well, to be examined in front of me, while the Registrar used the biggest magnifying glass I've ever seen...and I have the copies/documents that were made the day I was there...the ones that are suppose to show that the house and mineral rights are separate entities, not all of which I understand) Therefore, due to the previously stated, we did not have to disclose upon the mineral rights we had been receiving and we were not required to sell the mineral rights with the house. The original owner of the house sold it to his daughter and she sold it to us, where she signed off on the mineral rights, to us. The Oil Co. that holds our lease, transferred the lease and all rights to it, to the guy that bought the house at the Sheriff's auction. We received no written notice or any notice at all, other than noticing that our checks stopped coming in monthly, we also never signed off on our rights. The Registrar Of Deeds said that because the mineral rights are not conveyed on the Deed whatsoever, they are separate. The Oil Co. is saying that the Sheriff's Deed and the Covenant Deed convey these rights, when in fact, there is no mention of any mineral rights associated with that house...and I have copies of all Deeds; Warranty Deed between parents and daughter, WD between the daughter and us, the Sheriff's Deed, Covenant Deed, and what is recorded simply as, Deed with the current owner. There is a paragraph in the Sheriff's Deed that I don't fully understand, it's the third, 'WHEREAS' statement and contains this portion regarding; 'a copy thereof was duly posted in a conspicuous place upon the premises described in the mortgage that the premises, OR SOME PART OF THEM, would be sold on 8/12/09...so, isn't that saying that the sale could perhaps, not include a portion of the premises if it had previously been split off? There is record of one, and only one split regarding this property recorded with The Register of Deeds office/website and dated when we purchased the house and mineral rights from the daughter, which I am assuming (and hoping) would reference the split/severance of the rights from the actual property the house sits on. The Covenant Deed contains a sentence that is not on our Warranty Deed; 'Subject to building and use restrictions of record. And then the paragraph beginning; If property conveyed is unplatted...' Not sure what all that means. In all the copies of Deeds I have in my possession, there is not one single reference to anything other than the house itself, there is no mention of any mineral rights or a lease pertaining to any rights and we feel our mineral rights and the income from them, have been unlawfully transferred. I am sorry this is not just a sentence with a few words in it and an easy question, but I am a stay-at-home Mom and Wife and cannot afford to pay someone if I can figure it out on my own with some assistance. My children have not been real happy with me lately, as I have been nearly completely consumed by this for the past week and a half. I just need a little help deciphering between words, phrases, etc... I thank you for any assistance you are able and/or willing to give me.
06/23/2011 |
Category: Oil Gas and Minerals |
State: North Carolina |
#25086
Unplatted means recorded or mapped in the official maps of the county records. A restrictive covenant is a clause in a deed to real property that the buyer (grantee) will be limited as to the future use of the property. All restrictive covenants based on race are illegal.
The mineral estate is a separate interest in land that can be severed from the surface estate. The severance generally occurs in one of two ways: Either the landowner sells the minerals and retains the surface, or more commonly, the landowner sells the surface and retains the minerals. If the seller fails to reserve the minerals when selling the surface, the buyer automatically receives any mineral interest the grantor owned at the time of conveyance.
Generally, a deed transfers all rights, including mineral rights, unless they are excluded. The exclusion of the sale of mineral rights should be stated clearly and agreed upon by each party. You may see a notation to "SEE ATTACHED EXHIBIT A" and attach an Exhibit A (or other letter as needed) to the deed stating that the property is sold with all rights except for the mineral rights. Each type of mineral should be listed separately. A statement that all mineral rights are reserved by the grantor and grantor's heirs, successors, and assigns will preserve mineral rights for you and those you transfer the rights to.
For further discussion, please see:
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/real-estate/secure-mineral-rights-before-selling-home.aspx