Winter Park Home Magazine - Issue 4 - 2006
There's Oil In My Backyard. I'm rich...maybe.
by Frank L. Pohl, Attorney At Law
Partner, Pohl & Short, P.A., Winter Park
We all have dreams of finding natural wealth in our own back yard, just as Jed Clampett did. Of course the likelihood of your striking oil in Central Florida is as probable as finding three feet of snow on your lawn.
What you may find, though, is a letter in your mailbox from an individual who owned your property 40 years ago, informing you that he not only owns the mineral rights below the surface of your land, but also, that he has the rights to dig on your land for those minerals (called rights of entry). This letter may go further on to state that for a mere $800 he will release those rights of entry in your favor. Impossible? The Orlando Sentinel reported a similar incident recently in its Central Florida Edition, but for property in Palm Beach County. Could it happen here? Let's look at some facts: More......
