Whosever's is the soil, it is there's all the way to heaven and to the depths below. So goes the principle in property law that states that the owner of a plot of land owns what's beneath and above it, too. The waters are muddier now than in the thirteenth centure when this law was said to have been effected. Now we have airplanes, so air space carries restrictions, but more importantly, especially in certain areas of the United States, we have oil and gas wells - they are in the depths below and carry a world of impact for our clients in real estate.
Here in the Northeast Ohio area, we are on the cusp of the Marcellus Formation, the largest source of natural gas in the United States. Hardly a neighborhood is without a well, and while gas and oil prices are too low at the moment for new drilling to commence, that will surely change. And the problem for homebuyers is that oil and gas leases are often a "surprise" drawback to their dream home. Sellers are supposed to disclose any existing gas or oil commitments, but in many cases they do not. Or, another example might be that a homeowner signed away their mineral rights and the company has yet to begin drilling. If that property is sold to a new owner, they may get the shock of a lifetime when a drilling begins one day on their land and they have no legal way to make it stop.
The bottom line for Realtors is the same as the bottom line always is for Realtors. We need to WORK for our buyers. Sometimes that work is a little bit of sleuthing to make sure that clients indeed own their land to the depths below. Or if not, that there is a clear cut lease agreement that delineates who owns mineral rights, for how long, and how that will affect the property. No one wants to have the rug pulled out from beneath them, literally or figuratively, and we must make sure our buyers are buying a home sweet home that's standing on terra firma . . . .
Comments(2)