Mineral rights properties have been a hot topic nowadays. It has been an interesting investment for real estate investors since last year but it has only begun to boom in the real estate market now. Let’s look more closely at the nature of mineral rights and mineral lease transactions.

Purchasing mineral rights isn’t as simple as buying a house or a car. When buying mineral rights, the energy/mining company has to get a mining permit and organize everyone’s schedule to commence operation on the property.

This is if the buyer wants to remove and make use of the minerals, of course. There are buyers who just prefer to invest in the property. The investment would include the plan to sell that property to energy/mining companies themselves.

Mineral Rights and Surface Rights

Mineral rights are different from surface rights. Surface rights only focus on the properties (buildings, landmarks, etc.) that is at the surface of the property. Mineral rights, on the other hand, refer to the energy or minerals that are present under the property. This would explain why we can have a surface rights owner and a different mineral rights owner.

Naturally, we can expect that there would be disagreements between the mineral rights owner and the surface rights owner. These would most often come out during the extraction of the minerals, and most of the time it is the surface rights owner who gets inconvenienced. Disagreements like these can be cleared up by looking back to the mineral rights agreement, or the mineral lease agreement. When it is written that the mineral rights owner has the right to operate mineral extraction any time he/she wants, then there is nothing that the surface rights owner can do. This is the reason why written agreements and contracts should be kept and valued. Legal assistance is always a big help, especially when it comes to mineral rights leasing.

Surface rights owners, and surface rights buyers, should also take a look at the mineral rights agreement. You may not be directly involved in the transaction of the mineral rights of your property. But you are still a part of that property and there may be certain things you need to prepare yourself for (like the extraction of the minerals at an inconvenient time).

Seek legal assistance when you are going to buy a property that may have mineral rights attached to it. Copies of mineral rights transactions are normally kept at a government office if you cannot find the original ones. Buyers should always ask what rights are included in the sale of a property. You can ask your lawyer to research on the property you want to buy and the extent of the ownership being offered to you. A lawyer’s assistance is important especially if you’re dealing with a property that has historic mineral activity and potential mining activity.

State and Local Laws

Most states have laws and regulations pertaining to mineral rights ownership, transactions, and extraction. There are laws and regulations that emphasizes the limitations of a mining company’s actions during extraction, for example. These laws are put down to help protect the environment and the parties involved. Both the mineral rights owner and the surface rights owner should be aware of these laws to avoid future problems and disagreements. To make matter clearer for both parties, lawyers and legal assistance should be present.

Obviously, mineral rights and mineral rights transactions are a very complex situation. They require a lot of research, a lot of counsel, and a lot of effort, time, and money. The most important thing to remember is to always ask about the rights and seek legal assistance.

Many people don’t really give a thought if there is anything valuable underneath the surface of a property. Most of us would only look at the exterior part of the property and the land, but not really what’s beneath it. Well, you just might have to, especially when you’re buying a property in a place where minerals and resources are abundant. In this case you have to buy the land with the mineral rights.

Check first whether the property you’re buying really does have mineral deposits underneath. You can ask for help from a local geology surveyor for this. You can ask around real estate agents, developers, or lawyers for any recommended surveyor.

Local and state laws regarding mineral rights are usually the same in many states. But it won’t hurt to check just to make sure. The state you’re in may have different definitions and elements for mineral rights purchase and extraction. Ask help from the local land commission or a real estate lawyer you know in the area.

When creating the contract for the purchase of the land and the mineral rights, it is important to write down the minerals included in the purchase. Include the sub-surface extractions and clear up any issues regarding the price of the mineral rights.

Now the seller might want to keep some of the minerals of the property. In order to obtain all the mineral rights, you’ll have to negotiate the price of the mineral upward. You should define the minerals and rights included in the transaction clearly to avoid future disputes.

One important thing to remember when doing a deal with a property with mineral rights is to always seek counsel from a real estate lawyer. Have your contract looked over and checked before finally agreeing to the deal. Buying land with mineral rights, after all, have great advantages for you as the buyer and you’ll need to make sure that the mineral rights are yours.

While it is important to hear every word of what your client says, it is also important to only focus on the words that will be beneficial for you. This means considering some details of what your client said while automatically dismissing some of it. We call this selective hearing, where we just take in what we want to hear and ignore those we don’t want.

• Your greeting should not go like you are promoting your company. For instance, do not go answering your calls with “Good morning. Thank you for calling Real Estate Company.” Homeowners feel more comfortable sharing their home troubles with individuals, not companies. The proper greeting should go like “Good morning. Real Estate, this is Name speaking.” Your greeting should be more on a personal level to get the sellers to be comfortable with you.
• Get right on the point of how you can help the seller. He or she called for your help, after all.
• There are some homeowners who would want to ask you for information first before going unto the problem. Be patient with them and be courteous. These homeowners may feel upset about having to sell their property and may also not like to trust you. Concentrate on building trust between the two of you and there is a possibility that he or she may warm up to you about their real estate problem.
• Take down some personal information about the homeowners. You will be able to see whether or not the homeowner will face a possible foreclosure or not. They may also share that they are behind bills and loans. You might be able to help them in a different way with these information. For instance, you might be able to help the sellers better by offering to work with their lenders and avoid foreclosures.
• Ask if you could take a look at their property on the same day they called. This will show the homeowners your dedication and sincerity in helping them. Negotiations and talks may also go more smoothly when you are talking face to face and not over the phone. There is also the danger of losing the seller to other investors if you postpone looking at the property on another day and the homeowners are in need of immediate action.

It all goes down to getting that first phone call right. When you have successfully communicated to the homeowners and they warmed up to you, then that real estate deal is yours.

There are some real estate advertisements that just don’t cut it. Some advertising projects might not be appealing to the customers. Some just don’t attract the attention of your target market.

There’s always room for improvements, though. You just need to realize first what is wrong with you advertisements. You should critique your marketing and look into its faults. You can also ask someone else, a friend or a colleague, to take a look at your marketing project and ask for their opinion.

Here are some points to look into when inspecting your advertisements:

1. Your ads are not at the right locations.

All marketers and advertisers know that location is very important when promoting the business. It is not any different in the real estate business. There is really meaning to the famous “location, location, location!” line.

You should obviously put your ads in an area wherein much of your target customers can be found. It should also be in a place where it can be clearly seen by people passing by. It’s no use putting up ads in places where people can’t even see them. Visibility, exposure, and accessibility is important if you want your advertisements seen and read.

2. Your message is unclear.

The message of your ads should be clear and direct. It is what the advertisement and marketing project is all about, after all. Your ads should speak of what you have to offer, your products, and/or your services. You should also be precise on the benefits that the customers will receive when taking your offer, and you should be direct and firm on what you advertise.

3. Your ads don’t catch the attention of potential customers.

Many people will sometimes just take a short look at your ads. In that short amount of time, you need to capture the customers’ attention. You can start by making your headlines big, understandable, and catchy.

4. Your ads don’t help in promoting your credibility and success rate.

You also need to get your potential customers to trust you based on your advertisements. You should also offer some information about yourself and your experiences in the real estate business. With this information, the customers will feel more relaxed and easy when coming to you.

5. You cannot be contacted as easily as you would like to be.

Your ad may have attracted the attention of many people. But it won’t give you customers if you do not give them details and clear directions on how to contact you. Your contact details should be clearly displayed in the ads. Your phone number should be active and it is best to personally take phone calls rather than have the answering machine take them. If possible, show a map where your office is located. You can also add in your email address or fax number.

6. No unique selling proposition distinguishing you from your competitors.

A unique selling proposition is very important in an industry where you need to do better than your competitor to get more leads. You need to have something, or offer something that will allow your customers to think that it is better to do business with you than with another real estate investor.

One advertising strategy in attracting sellers to your real estate investing business is to have a killer ad copy. Creating a great real estate ad copy should be part of your marketing campaigns in order to get more exposure and more clients.

Making a great ad copy is not as hard as it sounds, although it will require some effort and some time for testing and improving on it. Basically, the ad copy will be just like how you would talk to a potential seller and telling him or her to consider you when selling their house or property.

The best technique creating a great real estate ad copy is to make it so that you tell your potential sellers about yourself as a real estate investor. Show them what and who you really are as a real estate investor, in a way that they will feel that they can trust you. This way, you will be the first on their list when they want to sell their house.

Tips on Making a Great Ad Copy

1. Think about who and what type of person it is you are trying to sell yourself to. Put yourself in their shoes and try to determine what their situation may be. Try to think on what they may want or need.

 

2. After thinking on the customer, think about YOU. Work on your good and bad points and take note of the things that will make you appealing to the sellers. Think about why they should contact you or see you. Think about how you can personally interact with them, too. Clearly write down your services and experience.

 

3. A unique selling proposition should be in order. Think about what you can offer the sellers that other real estate investors have not or could not. You have to be different from your competitors in order to stand out and be noticed by the potential sellers.

 

4. Write down your first ad copy by combining the three steps above. If you have trouble writing it, you can talk it out and record it as if you’re personally talking to a potential seller. Listen to it afterwards and write it down.
   

 

5. Test your copy and improvise. Take your time with this. Test your copy more than once. Come back to it and improve on it after a day or two. Always have a fresh mind when revising the copy. Testing the copy and revising it many times will help you create an ad copy that gives out a strong message to the potential sellers.

Keep in mind, too, that confidence and enthusiasm can be evident in you ad copy. That is why it is important to be confident and proud of your work and services. Remember not to promise a lot. But always make the effort to do something extra and over deliver.

Do not fear that your copy is inferior and is not to be seen by the public yet. Your ad copy doesn’t have to be perfect before you can send it out. On the contrary, you will be able to see the results of your ‘test’ copies and make more improvements.