These are some common myths that some residents have said they heard from an energy company trying to get them to accept a below-market offer for their mineral rights:

MYTH: "Your bonus amount is based on the value of your property. Those 'other folks' are getting bigger bonuses because their real estate is worth more. " 

The signing bonus you receive is paid per acre and depends only on the size of your lot and the percentage of mineral rights you already own. If you have a mobile home on a quarter-acre you get more than someone with a $250,000 home on a one-sixth acre lot. The higher the signing bonus per acre negotiated for the whole neighborhood, the more everyone in the neighborhood gets. This includes people with only 50% mineral rights or partial mineral rights. That's why we need to negotiate as a group.

MYTH: "Those people getting higher bonuses are paying money to lawyers to get it."

Although you have a right to pay a laywer for advice about your property rights, most of the neighborhood groups negotiating with the developers do not have paid legal counsel, relying on volunteers and attorneys working for free. Our SWAPO2 group is currently paying no lawyers and we are using a model contract that was successful for the original SWAPO group adjacent to us.

MYTH: "You must sign our developer's contract now or you will get nothing."

Since "they" are only offering $5,000 instead of the market value of $15,000-$16,800, of course they want to get as many people to sign quickly before the find out about a better deal. The more people they trick into a lower price, the less likely they are to have to negotiate with the neighborhood groups.Understand there are usually three or four different developers who bid on the same neighborhood property once it becomes organized. Just because you do not sign with one developer does not mean you will never be able to lease your mineral rights.

MYTH: "You won't get a better deal from anyone else; we control offers from the major players."

Not only is this statement false, it is potentially illegal for them to promulgate this false information. Oil and gas programs are in fact securities transactions governed by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Texas securities regulations. Although most landmen are not licensed by the SEC or NASDR, they must follow the same rules of full disclosure, large-font disclaimers and honesty when presenting an offer to buy your mineral rights.

MYTH: "Our signing bonus of $5,000 is a reality right now. There potential offers are just pie in the sky."

Even though the contract being offered by an energy company says their bonus is "cash in hand paid" before you sign, in fact they may take 30 days or more to actually send you your check. When we attended a recent signing meeting held by the energy company's representatives at a local churh, most of the people th ere were complaining about not yet having received their check. If you join our group, we will not promise you money or make you sign a lease contract until we are sure from the developer exactly what will be paid and when. Before signing the binding lease contract, we will only have you send us a Memorandum of Intent stating you wish to join us in negotiations and haven't singed with anyone else. After the negotiations are complete, then you will be given the opportunity to sign a legally binding contract. But you do not  have to sell your mineral rights at all to anyone if you don't want to. That is your right and we respect it.

Here are some positive facts that may help you make an educated decision regarding your mineral rights:

FACT: "Not all developers are trying to swindle you out of your mineral rights. Some are honest brokers who will pay a fair price in order to make big profits from gas wells."

This is true. In fact, most of the landmen you will talk with are independent contractors not directly employed by the developers or investment company. Even developers like Four Sevens who have made below-market offers of $5,000/acre in the mail have been pursuaded to bargain fairly for $15,000/acre or more in some neighborhoods, provided the residents band together. It is usually when dealing with mostly individual homeowners that misinformation and below-market offers are made by the landmen seeking to buy your mineral rights. Sometimes they turn right around and resell them to another developer for three times as much.

FACT: "Back before October 2007, $5000 per acre was a fair price. It is only recently that signing bonuses have gone way up. It's possible they may go back down."

It's true that with the rising price of oil and gas, prices paid in signing bonus and royalties have gone way up in the past 90 days. But much of this has to do with neighborhoods banding together to negotiate a higher price. We feel it is very unlikely that gas prices will fall precipitously or that bonuses for our area will suddenly drop dramatically. As more and more developers find it's faster and cheaper to pay the bonuses in large blocks rather than negotiate with each individual homeowner, it becomes easier to get a higher signing bonus, and get more environmental, noise, and traffic protections for the neighborhood. See our model contract recently signed by the original SWAPO and compare it to one you may have received in the mail.

FACT: "People who already signed a binding lease for $5,000/acre bonus are stuck with it and can't join our group contract for the greater $15,000+/acre bonus."

Although we are not attorneys and cannot give legal advice, this statement is probably true. If you signed a legally binding contrat and had it notarized, it's hard to get out of it. Texas may allow you a 72-hour cooling off period for some contracts. You also may have a case for deceptive trade practices or signing under false pretenses if you were told some of the myths listed above and can prove this in court. But unless you recorded all conversations on tape or have false statements in writing, your case may not be viable. Consult a licensed attorney for all legal matters regarding your contract. In any case, it is unlikely you would be able to get out of your contract in time to sign a newer group contract. But you are still welcome to join our group and contribute. In any case, a higher signing bonus for the neighborhood will augment your own case (if any) and will provide us all with environmental, noise and traffic protections for wells drilled nearby.

FACT: "Some people will get little or nothing no matter who the neighborhood deals with."

Unfortunately for a small minority, that is true. There is no guarantee that you were given any mineral rights when you bought your property. Some members of our group only have 50% rights, but most do have 100%. You may also have lost your mineral rights in an inheritance or other legal proceeding, but again that is a small minority. But even if you have less than 100% or no mineral rights, your property value and peace of mind may be affected by the presence of a gas well near your home. Our model contract seeks to preserve our surface-property value and quality of life as well as maximizing the financial return on the lease. You can join our group and make your voice heard even if you have no mineral rights.

FACT: "There is no practical way to stop the gas well drilling in our area. Whatever we do, eventually it will probably happen."

Short of gross mismanagement or a lawsuit injunction, there is no likely method to completely prevent all possible drilling in our area by any developer. Since most of our surrounding neighborhoods have already signed bulk contracts, you will see wells going up in the coming years. Although some people are against all oil-and-gas exploration in our neighborhood, and have a right to this opinion, we believe it is more practical to allow limited exploration and drilling controlled by our own best environmental protections and a minimum distance of 600 feet away from all residences. The Arlington and Kennedale city ordinances do not  guarantee this all the time, so we need to put it in the lease contract itself.