West Virginia Count Down!

[Nyboy]

Beautiful what is " free gas rights" ?

 

[Beekissed]

Beautiful what is " free gas rights" ?

Free gas is when the mineral rights to the property are owned by someone other than the deed holder, there are existing and working wells already in place on the property and the deed holder has free gas to their home that conveys with the sale of the property.

For as long as that well produces, whoever owns the actual land it is located on will receive the rights to free gas but not any royalties from the sale of the gas itself.

In this area, when buying acreage, it's a good idea to ask if the mineral rights are intact and go with the property. I advised a girlfriend on this years ago(she had never even heard of mineral rights) and she asked and bought them along with the property. She is now earning royalties from mining that may or may not happen under her property in the future, as well as separate royalties for the gas and oil under her land as well.

If they actually DO get to her land and start mining or drilling, she will be a millionaire before it's all over. And that was in an area that no one thought there would ever be any coal or gas/oil work done....but then some one discovered the Marcellas shale depositories and this area is a boom town for all that now.

If she hadn't asked about and made sure she got the mineral rights to that property, it's likely they would have been snapped up by these big companies and she would only get free gas rights as the property owner.

My folks sold their mineral rights years and years ago to one piece of property they owned and later on that place had the biggest gas well in the history of the state. I could have grown up rich instead of poor...I'm glad I grew up poor, but you can see that riches hang on a single decision in this area and an eye for the future.

No matter what, get those mineral rights to your land if they are available. If not, just enjoy the free gas...that's pretty cool too.

 

[Nyboy]

Thats always learning

 

[MontyJ]

I hope you didn't misunderstand my hillbilly comment Bee. Most of my friends are hillbillies and are damn proud of it. But an outsider is going to have to understand that things are done differently here, as you described. Most people don't understand the concept of shooting a Walker because he won't leave the campfire. You know what I'm talking about.
As for wells and water, I know of several wells that are useless, and I also know of an entire ridge of property for sale on the cheap because there's no water at all. I also know of a few properties that once had houses on them that a certain mining company now owns because of subsidence. Every state and region has it's problems.
As I said, I love West Virginia, and will never move. I set roots here and they have grown very deep. The OP just needs to understand that there's a big difference between Elkins and Parkersburg.

 

[Beekissed]

Yep....there is definitely a difference between Elkins and Parkersburg. One area has a mining culture and the other has a river culture and never the twain shall meet, though you'll find hillbillies in both areas....even more so in the southern part of the state~and that's a culture that is singular in and of itself, still very much a mining area and more....uh...backwoods? than most of the rest of the state.

I was raised 20 mi. from Parkersburg and reside in that area right now, though my heart is over past Elkins, in the eastern portion of the state where I have lived numerous times in the past.

And, yes, hillbillies are a whole 'nother breed of cat and unlike a lot of folks out there. There's a certain independence that is part of the culture that's hard to describe, but lately I've seen evidence of that dying off with the older generations. More of the mountaineer spirit and skills are being lost or tossed away as no longer relevant, which is a sadness to me.

Every state has these regional considerations, I'm sure. WV is a quirky state with many things that have happened here that would surprise most folks...we have a real history that contributed to the building of this nation and many forget that because we get such bad PR via the media and movies.

I'm rather proud of living here and I wouldn't want to live in any other state, though I have lived in OH briefly, RI briefly and have traveled through and visited many other states.

I didn't take your comment wrong, MontyJ....I knew what you meant! Just wanted to let you know that hillbilly is throughout the state and not so much stuck in the middle. I think it's in the soils and you have to walk barefoot on them long enough to absorb some of the hillbilly into your life and soul.

 

[journey11]

Here's a pic of my BIL's farm in Mason County. He gave $120,000 for 68 acres, very rural location. Here on the western side bordering the Ohio River the hills are small and gently rolling. I'm at about 900 feet elevation in Mason County, on the second highest point in that county. (You can cruise Google Earth maps and look at the state as a topographical map to get an idea of the differences in each county. The closer together the lines, the steeper the climb.) You'd have your pastures on the hilltops or bottoms and keep the steeper hillsides wooded. Hope your DH likes deer hunting!

What kind of work does your DH do, @AMKuska ? That may be the bigger consideration as to where you'll want to look. Jackson County is smack dab in the the middle where interstate runs between Parkersburg and Charleston, so most people there will have a 45 minute commute to work either direction. Lots of plant jobs around here too. The Toyota plant in Buffalo, WV (Putnam Co.) is supposed to be expanding soon and is one of the major job creators here, great place to work. My DH works for AEP over in Ohio, 30 minute commute for him. I thought about that too, with your grooming business, that you may want to live in or near one of the bigger cities where you'll have more business and people who will pay more for that service. We have a couple of small groomers here, usually operating out of their own home or as a second job.

My dad's well on his farm in Jackson County is spoiled by sulfur. I've heard of others too. I don't know what causes it. It was like that long before the fracking and we don't have any mining operations around here either. Good news is that in this area of WV, even the more remote communities all have city water.

 

[Nyboy]

@journey11 the well water at my house was so bad the whole house would smell of sulfur just turning on kitchen sink. I had a water company come in they installed some kind of water system, now no smell.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The valley I'm living in now, all the water wells are sulfur water. There has never been any oil drilling or mining here. Drilling and mining can affect the ground water, especially if they are not done right, but they are not the only reason water can have sulfur in it. I'm on county water instead of well water because of that.

My story on this is my Uncle #4 bought a farm next to his father's farm and drilled a water well. No mining of drilling around. He hit a sulfur well. His wife was not happy so he drilled another well in another location. Sulfur. He drilled two more, one sulfur and one dry then finally gave up. That was getting expensive. He hooked up a well and they learned to live with it. You could smell the sulfur when you walked into their house.

Uncle #5 took over my grandfather's farm and decided he wanted water too. His wife did not like depending on a cistern and wanted running water In the house. Don't blame her but you need a well for that, not a cistern. One of the sulfur wells Uncle #4 had drilled was right on the property line, so Uncle #5 drilled right next to that well, figuring paying for drilling one well and hitting sulfur water was better than paying for a dry well and drilling a second. Drilling just a few feet away from that sulfur well, he hit pure sweet water. Uncle #5 was tickled pink, but I cant say Uncle #4 was all that happy.

 

[journey11]

@journey11 the well water at my house was so bad the whole house would smell of sulfur just turning on kitchen sink. I had a water company come in they installed some kind of water system, now no smell.

Good to know! My DH and I have considered buying my dad's farm in the future.

 

[baymule]

Nothing like that rotten egg smell that says Welcome Home!!