<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by JimT:
We entered into a contract to purchase a home on 100 acres in West Virginia. A week or so after, an agreement was disclosed by the seller giving unlimited drilling and operating rights to a gas company. These rights include the right to build a plant on the property. The agreement was recorded.
Our lawyer says that this is an easement and is covered by the "easements of record" clause in the contract.
To me, this is an oil and gas lease and not an easement.
1. Is this an easement?
2. How can I get out of this? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Somehow you are not providing all the information. In your original post, I stated that you can back out of the contract. This reasoning was based on the fact tha at the time you made your offer to purchase, the drilling rights issue was not disclosed to you. When it was disclosed via the title report, you discovered that it severely limits your rights of property ownership. Therefore based on this information, you have a right to terminate the transaction.
I am not privy to the languange in your contract and would not want to be second guessing your attorney. It appears though that your attorney has come up with reasons that you must still close rather than finding "termination loopholes" instead. Are you getting the right legal representation?
If there in fact is an easement of record clause in the contract, that does not automatically waive your rights to review and approve the contents in the title report.
In other words, you can not agree to something that you did not know about.
From a legal standpoint, the oil/gas drilling rights, agreement and/or lease is considered an easement of sorts. Reason being access to the property must be given in order to honor the rights to drill. To make matters worse, the agreement gives the holder a right to build a plant on the property in connection with the drilling operation. These issues severely limit the value of the property because the fee simple ownership is diminished and encumbered by the possibility of drilling and a related plant on the property.
