Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Max on February 29, 2012 at 10:57

Someone has to go to the parish's courthouse or access their on-line system and do a record search.  If you're going to pay someone to do it, I would recommend that you get an attorney from the area where the land is located.

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Permalink Reply by HBP on February 29, 2012 at 11:16

which parish?

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Permalink Reply by Ken Boone on February 29, 2012 at 13:59

De Soto Parish.

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Permalink Reply by Ken Boone on February 29, 2012 at 14:00

De Soto Parish

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Permalink Reply by Henry on March 1, 2012 at 0:57

Call Skip Peel. 

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Permalink Reply by Two Dogs, Pirate on March 1, 2012 at 14:12

I am with Henry, get in touch with Skip. You probably don't need an attorney unless you want a legal opinion on something that may be confusing in the title. Most attorneys want go to the courthouse and run records, they will contract that out to a oil and gas abstractor of landman. Abstractors and landmen can't give you a legal opinion unless they are also licened to practice law in Louisiana.

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Permalink Reply by Ken Boone on March 26, 2012 at 12:33

I have online access, any pointers on how to run a mineral search using the online system?

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Permalink Reply by Two Dogs, Pirate on March 26, 2012 at 13:35

Using the vendee index chain the title back to a solid deed before 1921, I would be looking for a warranty deed where the vendor warrants the title. You could use the BLM or state land office and check for patents then run the patentee name forward. If the  land patent is out of the State of Louisiana and is after 1921 then the state has the minerals. Some federal patents reserve minerals after 1913 or 1914. Be careful with the DeSoto web site, watch the page that you are on in the index and take note  when moving forward some times you can skip over pages and not be aware of it. Look for any tax sales and run vendee for redemptions, I take that back, run vendor and vendee all the way on all names in the chain and also  run mortagor on all names. I have an instruction sheet some where that gives guidelines for running mineral title and will look for it and give it to you. You are a newbe so just keep it simple for now and just run surface ownership. Are you the Ken Boone that is in the weather forcasting field?

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Permalink Reply by kittycatmama on March 26, 2012 at 14:54

I agree with Two Dogs and Henry.Get Skip if he isn't too busy. EXPERIENCED Landmen are more knowledgeable. I run my own titles now for Desoto, but just running title isn't enough. If you are buying a lg. tract of land, run titles on sections touching your section. Several years ago we had a mineral title done (this was what made me decide to do my own).Attorney ran our land & section way back but she didn't run the sections touching ours. Conclusion, a sections touching ours had a lease recorded and it held 4800 acres. Needless to say, we didn't get the $22000 an acre lease bonus (that is right--$22000 an ac.). I decided then that I would learn to do my own titles. If I made a mistake, then I could only blame myself

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Permalink Reply by The_Baron on March 27, 2012 at 5:37

that attourney should have found that lease anyways, and seen that it could still be held. very sloppy.

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Permalink Reply by Andrew on March 27, 2012 at 14:49

Agreed. Knowing the land was in DeSoto where there are very old, long-producing fields the title search really should have been from patent to be safe. Then, for every lease that affected the property, no matter how old, production history should have been run to see if the lease was HBPed by a well in another section. This requires a few extra steps and is a common, but devastating, way title is run incorrectly.

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Permalink Reply by kittycatmama on March 27, 2012 at 16:03

I agree. When the Haynesville became well known, a lot of attorneys started running mineral titles when it wasn't their field of expertise. In a lot of these titles, it is very hard to determine mineral ownership. I am fighting now to keep minerals on some property. I believe a servitude was broken many years ago and am doing my own research to find the basis for my argument in the LA Mineral Code. I just went through this with another co. where we were able to get minerals. Again, I am used to doing research, but a lot of people aren't. It is better, in my opinion, to hire an experienced Landman that it is to hire an attorney

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