FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Who pays for the closing costs?
Wake Energy pays for all closing costs which includes title search, title review, document prep, filing fees and escrow fees.
When do I get paid?
Upon receipt of your signed Mineral Deed and Purchase Sale Agreement, the term of our agreement starts. Typically, our Purchase Sale Agreements allows Wake Energy 30 days to complete our title review and mail you a check. On average, we complete our due diligence and pay mineral owners within 2 weeks, however, it simply depends on how many title reviews we have working at any one time.
How net acres of mineral interest do I own?
If you do not know how many net acres you own, it is no problem at all. Our title review will discover what you own. See below regarding the title review process.
What is involved in the title review/due diligence process?
Our title review starts by physically visiting the county courthouse applicable to your mineral interest. Most county courthouses have the last 25 years or so of land records available on the internet, however, to calculate your specific net acres, we must start from the Patent; the document in which the United States government first allotted the land (around the year 1900). From the Patent, we move forward by examining every conveyance of the mineral interest which includes Warranty Deeds, Mineral Deeds, Quit Claim Deeds, and Probates. Once we have gone through all of the records we will then know what you own.
What is a “fully participating perpetual net mineral acre”?
By owning mineral interest you are likely aware that the surface ownership and mineral ownership can be split, but mineral interest alone can be split into different types of ownership as well. A mineral owner can sell his or her non-participating royalty interest (NPRI) which splits the mineral interest between participating and non-participating. Normally, a participating interest has the right to enter into Oil & Gas Leases and collect on the lease bonus while the NPRI owner receives the royalties from a producing well. Fully participating means that the mineral interest holds all rights to the leasing rights, lease bonuses, and royalties.
Another way mineral interest can be split is by a certain length of time. A mineral owner can sell his or her mineral interest, but can retain the rights for several years or have them revert back after time. This is called a term interest. A common reservation is “20 years and as long thereafter oil and/or gas is being produced”. This means that after 20 years from the conveyance of the minerals and once there is no production on the lands, the mineral interest reverts to the new or back to the original owner, depending on how the deed is written. A perpetual net mineral acre is one that has no term applied to it.
When Wake Energy offers a certain amount per acre to purchase your mineral interest, it is conditional as to the mineral interest being a fully participating perpetual net mineral acre. These types of mineral ownership splits are not very common. If you an unsure that your minerals are subject to these conditions it is no problem as our title review will determine it.
In the first paragraph of the Mineral Deed you sent me it states “For and in consideration of Ten Dollars ($10.00) in hand paid and other good and valuable consideration”. What does this mean?
In the early 1900s it was customary to provide the exact amount paid for land and/or mineral interest directly on the deeds. Over time individuals and companies started using this language you see in our deed. According to contract law, for a deed to be valid there must be consideration both ways. The Grantor (you the mineral owner) receives money while the Grantee (Wake Energy) receives mineral interest. Because deeds are public records accessible to anyone, an arbitrary amount ($1, $5, or $10) is listed as well as the language “and other good and valuable consideration” to protect the details of a private business transaction of the Grantor and Grantee.