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Seller wants to sell the land but keep the mineral rights

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Bama girl

Junior Member
What is the name of your state?I am wanting to buy 5.2 acres of land with a house on it in Alabama, My questions are...Can the seller hold on to the mineral rights when selling this land? If so, will it bring the land value down when and if I try to sell? What rights will he have by owning the mineral rights but not owning the land?
A few months back the seller signed a release form for the land to be checked for oil. They came out and poked around and said there is oil there. The land was checked from three other differant owners within this area. If we buy this land without the mineral rights, can anyone come on our land and drill without our permission? What would be our rights as the land owner? I do not care if there is oil there or not. I just don't want the land to be messed up and/or us being run off of our land if we did buy it. Can anyone please help me understand this mineral law?
 
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Some Random Guy

Senior Member
without the mineral rights, they can drill for oil or even open a mine on your land and you have no say in the matter. Normally I would not be concerned with this since a lot of American property does not come with mineral rights.

However, since the seller just had the property surveyed for oil and clearly wants to retain rights, I would expect to see 1 or 2 oil rigs on the property along with holding tanks and/or pipes within a few years.

If that doesn't sound appealing to you, then yes, the value of the property should be significantly lowered.
 

SA Goddess

Junior Member
Drilling location from house

We bought 100 acres in East Texas and did not receive mineral rights with the purchase (didn't care - it's for our retirement.) Our attorney advised us they could not drill within 500 yards of the house. You may have a similar situation in Alabama. Ask your real estate attorney.
 

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