Do Mineral Rights Automatically Come with Land?
This is one of the biggest misunderstandings buyers have when purchasing land — especially here in East Texas.
Many people assume that when you buy land, the mineral rights come with it.
The truth is: they do not automatically convey.
In many cases, the seller may not even own the mineral rights to begin with — which means they cannot transfer them to you, even if they wanted to.
Mineral Rights Are Often Already Reserved
Finding land with mineral rights included is fairly rare in East Texas, although it does happen occasionally.
In my 14 years in real estate, I’ve only seen a handful of properties where mineral rights were still owned by the seller — and in most of those cases, the minerals were reserved when the land was sold.
More often, mineral rights were separated from the surface ownership decades ago and passed down through heirs of the original owners over time.
Who Researches Mineral Rights?
This surprises a lot of buyers:
Real estate agents and title companies do not typically research mineral ownership in depth.
Mineral rights can be extremely complex, and ownership may trace back many generations.
How Can a Buyer Find Out?
If mineral rights are important to you, the buyer will need to hire a Landman to perform the research.
A Landman can:
Review deeds and title history
Search abstracts going back many years
Determine who actually owns the mineral estate
Confirm whether any mineral rights can be conveyed
Real Talk:
If you’re buying land, don’t assume mineral rights are included. Always ask questions early and get the right professionals involved.
Real Talk. Real Results.