Undisclosed drilling rights on property

[JimT]

A few weeks ago, we signed a contract to purchase a house in West Virginia. The title search has disclosed a 20 year old agreement allowing a gas company to drill anywhere they want as long as it is 200 feet from the house. We believe this severely limits our use of the property as we could not build any permanent structures. Can we back out of the contract because of this?

 

[Lynnette 25]

At least this problem was found before you closed! I would suggest contacting a real estate attorney to protect your interests. You may be able to get a new agreement from the gas company to rescind the old one, if you still want the property. Otherwise, you do not have clear title to it and that could be a serious problem later on.

 

[HomeGuru]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by JimT:
A few weeks ago, we signed a contract to purchase a house in West Virginia. The title search has disclosed a 20 year old agreement allowing a gas company to drill anywhere they want as long as it is 200 feet from the house. We believe this severely limits our use of the property as we could not build any permanent structures. Can we back out of the contract because of this?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes you can back out of the contract because this drilling agreement is a cloud on the title.