I am contemplating selling mineral rights in North Dakota, but should I? If I decide to sell my minerals, how do I get started? Is there anyone out there interested in protecting me or will everyone take advantage of my situation and rob me blind?
Let’s look at each of these questions individually.
Should you sell?
If you have not already, you will soon discover a vast amount of Internet resources with opinions on whether or not you should sell your mineral rights.
The opinions range from “NEVER SELL YOUR MINERAL RIGHTS, EVER, EVER” to “HERE ARE ALL THE REASONS YOU SHOULD SELL TODAY”. Before you place too much stock in Internet resources, you must consider your personal situation carefully. So the question is not should you sell mineral rights, but are the reasons you are selling mineral rights better than the reasons to keep them?
Why are you contemplating selling mineral rights in North Dakota?
In my experience, retirement is the most common reason people sell mineral rights. While the hope of a future income stream from producing minerals in the form of oil and gas royalties is exciting, many folks I talk to know they will miss most of the income considering their age. They want the money now; who would not understand that?
The second most common reason is after an inheritance. “Mom and Dad always managed our property. I have no idea what to do here and just need to start over.” I certainly understand that.
Sure, there are hundreds more reasons, but the most important reason is yours. Why are you selling mineral rights in North Dakota?
How do I get started?
Let’s look at an example most of us will be familiar with – selling a home.
Warning! The following example contains massive amounts of sarcasm. I imagine the last time you sold a home you decided not to contact a Realtor or put a “For Sale” sign in your front yard. Rather, you drove around your city looking for “Cash for your home” signs on telephone poles. If you are like me, you prefer the neon green poster board to the boring white just because the phone number is easier to read from a distance.
All sarcasm aside, when selling a home most people will hire a Realtor or at the very least place a “For Sale by Owner” sign in their front yard to attract buyers. Unfortunately, this is not what the vast majority of mineral owners will do. They will spend countless hours “driving around” the Internet blindly looking for mineral buyers to contact instead of getting professional help.
Which brings us to who can you trust to help?
Who can help me then?
This is where the challenge comes. You are either one of two people:
You prefer to do things on your own or you prefer others to do it for you.
Unfortunately with mineral rights, it is very difficult to navigate the process on your own because there is just not a lot of help out there. You have heard of a “buyer’s market” in real estate? Most people find it is always a buyers market when they attempt to sell minerals without help. You see, unlike selling a home, there is not a Zillow or Realtor.com to provide you pricing ranges or a Realtor to assist you with your homes presentation, open houses and closing guidance. How do you know what documents you need to begin? How do you know what the true market value for your property will be? What is the best way to get paid at closing?
How do you know if you made a good deal or not?
Don’t go it alone. If you have questions about how to sell mineral rights fill out the form below. We can help.
