Dateline: 30 January 2012
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I’m in the process of buying 16 acres of land with a small house in the township of Moravia. My wife and I have been saving, and waiting, and looking, and dreaming of owning something more than the lot-size parcel in Sempronius, where we have lived for the past 25 years. With some woods, and field, and a beautiful stream flowing through, this new piece of property is just right for us. And we can afford to buy it. At 54 years of age, my dream of having more land to expand my garden and grow some fruit trees, and maybe raise a cow or a couple of pigs, is about to come true. And I'm thinking about my grandchildren—that stream in the woods will be a great place for grandchildren to explore. But then I went to see my attorney.
I met with my attorney a few months ago, when I learned the land was for sale, before the current peak in concern about hydrofracking, before I knew much of anything about hydrofracking, before the Sempronius town board was presented with 63 signatures from concerned citizens asking for the board to enact a moratorium on hydrofracking. The first thing my attorney wanted to know is if the property has a gas lease on it. I said it did. He immediately advised me not to buy it.
As you might imagine, I didn’t want to hear that. I asked what the problem would be with buying land with a gas lease? In so many words, my attorney told me that there were all kinds of potential problems that come with a gas lease. For example, I had no idea what rights the lease gave to the gas company. It was entirely possible that I would not be able to build a house (my in-the-future plan) or a barn (another plan) without getting permission from the lease company, and getting such permission was not likely to happen. And there were other concerns.
I asked how I might get the land “un-leased.” He told me it’s difficult-to-impossible to get out of a gas lease. Depending on how it’s worded, the gas company has the option to renew the lease, for periods of time, and perhaps even indefinitely. It’s not an easy thing to get out of a gas lease if the gas company doesn’t want to.
He told me the whole south end of our county has a lot of land with these gas leases, and it’s creating all kinds of problems for people selling and buying property, especially if the buyer wants a mortgage. Banks aren’t stupid. They know, just like any good attorney, that a gas lease is a liability.
So I asked my attorney (and I am paraphrasing all of this from memory here) if anyone went to him for advice a few years ago when the land agents were in our area buying up leases? He said maybe a couple dozen people came to him for his professional advice.
And I asked if he advised them not to lease their property?
He replied in no uncertain terms that he did exactly that.
“And how many of those people took your advice?
He said maybe four or five out of the couple dozen took his advice and did not lease their land.
So now I’m faced with a dilemma. Do I ignore the legal advice of an attorney who is looking out for my best interests, and who understands more about gas leases than I do, and who tells me not to buy the land?
There are open fields around my dream property. They look to me like perfect places to put a large gas-drilling pad. Will my dream turn into a nightmare after I buy the land?
What would you do?