Under Ohio law, a land contract must include the sale of a home.
Mineral rights refer to the ownership of minerals, such as oil and gas, found underground and the right to mine or drill them. In the U.S., mineral rights can lie with the owner of the property but can also be sold separately. When land is sold in Ohio the legally binding document will include mineral and surface rights as the seller can retain the mineral rights.
Production history
More than 274,000 wells have been drilled in Ohio since the state's first commercial production of oil in 1860. Most of Ohio's oil and gas wells are currently wells which produce less than 10 barrels of oil per day, according to Mineral Web. The state is located in part of the Appalachian Coal Basin, which is one of the largest coal fields in the U.S. and according to Ohio Natural Department of Resources the state has "11.5 billion tons of economically recoverable coal reserves."
Estate ownership
Owning an estate with the mineral rights and surface rights included is referred to as a fee simple estate. This is the most common land ownership in Ohio. Selling a fee simple estate means the buyer has the rights to whatever lies above ground and below along with the right to excavate whatever lies below. A fee simple estate may be subject to certain conditions which, if broken, means the land reverts back to the owner. A fee simple estate which includes "a special limitation" means if the condition is broken the estate automatically reverts back to the previous owner without anyone having to go to court. A fee simple estate with a "condition subsequent," means if that condition is broken, the estate reverts back to the former owner, but the change of ownership will have to be asserted in a court of law.
Land contract
A land contract is drawn up when a piece of land is being sold which includes a home, for an agreed price. The contract can cover the sale of a mobile home but only if the home is part of the land. According to Ohio Legal Services under Ohio Law "the Land Contract must be for a home and the property the home sits on, not just land."
Mineral rights
When buying and selling land in Ohio, the mineral rights may or may not be included. If you buy land in Ohio which does not include the mineral rights, you are granting the seller the rights to the minerals that lie under your property. Mineral rights may be bought by a company with the intention of carrying out the extraction years in advance or an individual may buy the mineral rights as an investment with a view to selling it to the company willing to pay the highest price. Geology.com warns buying land without mineral rights could be problematic. "Disputes between the mineral rights owner and the surface rights owner often arise at the time of mineral extraction. These activities can require use of the surface and damage the surface owner's enjoyment of the property."
Tags: simple estate, mineral rights, reverts back, surface rights, broken estate
