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Best areas to live in TX
- Thread starter Chickentoast
- Start date
Just heard on the news that Beto is making noise about potentially running for governor. This is going to be ridiculous...
A couple things from a fellow from a neighboring state. South, is hot. Not temperature hot, there are places that typically reach higher temperatures, but Hot, Hot, Humid Hot. Some can adapt, some can’t. Frankly growing up in Louisiana, East Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama, is the only real way to adapt.
Coming south from places like New Hampshire is gonna be very tough on a continual basis. Air conditioning is great, but it is tough to haul along a ten ton air conditioning unit while walking to your deer stand. (Not to mention he generator to run it.
Second, depending on the location, land prices can be great, but they are what they are. Purchasing land for a hundred thousand or a million when a fellow just sold his place for twice that is great. But when it comes time to sell, its only going to sell for the same value it was purchased for. The land a fellow sold to get here is still going to cost twice as much. Point, depending on where you are, when you get here, unless you write really good software you can’t go back. (All the oil leases are already locked up so don’t expect to strike it rich on an oil strike on your property).
Our son was stationed at Dyess AFB for a while and we really liked Abilene. Nice country and lots to do.
Coming south from places like New Hampshire is gonna be very tough on a continual basis. Air conditioning is great, but it is tough to haul along a ten ton air conditioning unit while walking to your deer stand. (Not to mention he generator to run it.
Second, depending on the location, land prices can be great, but they are what they are. Purchasing land for a hundred thousand or a million when a fellow just sold his place for twice that is great. But when it comes time to sell, its only going to sell for the same value it was purchased for. The land a fellow sold to get here is still going to cost twice as much. Point, depending on where you are, when you get here, unless you write really good software you can’t go back. (All the oil leases are already locked up so don’t expect to strike it rich on an oil strike on your property).
Our son was stationed at Dyess AFB for a while and we really liked Abilene. Nice country and lots to do.
I have buddies in Missouri that wont hunt unless its down in the 30's because "they dont want the deer to spoil"... I'm like "oh it was 90 on opening day last year".
I live in the Hill Country west of Austin on a good sized piece of land. Big enough to hunt with wildlife exemption.
4 years ago we thought we lived in the country but the developments just kept coming. I just got our place refi'd and they put the value on our land at more than what I paid for the property with a house, barn and infrastructure. The influx of Californians who followed Joe Rogan has exploded this housing market. One of my employees sold his 2 year old home in Spicewood for about 100k more than he paid - the first day it was on the market.
I would take a look out towards Johnson City. That whole area off 281 is pretty nice. 165 from 290 down to Blanco is pretty amazing.
4 years ago we thought we lived in the country but the developments just kept coming. I just got our place refi'd and they put the value on our land at more than what I paid for the property with a house, barn and infrastructure. The influx of Californians who followed Joe Rogan has exploded this housing market. One of my employees sold his 2 year old home in Spicewood for about 100k more than he paid - the first day it was on the market.
I would take a look out towards Johnson City. That whole area off 281 is pretty nice. 165 from 290 down to Blanco is pretty amazing.
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Very true. Better off just go look at production history. After that go to the courthouse whether directly or online and research leases on your property, soon-to-be, and the surrounding acreage
OP, unless being located in TX is a requirement of employment you might want to take a look at what your $1-4 million will buy in other states.
If you are not native, stay the fuck out. If you still insist move to El Paso you can not make it any shittier.
New companies (Toyota, Raytheon) really blew up the Dallas housing market in the past few years. I recently had moved out to Rockwall county - and although its a little farther to the grocery store etc.; still within one hour to major medical and much improved breathability. I really like the area. Pay attention to 2A Sanctuary counties; I moved our from one before the election to one listed as "will resist federal government infringement of 2A" but won't fight registration etc.
I was at HEB in a small Trump town N/W of Austin and a truck drove past in the parking lot with "Turn Texas Blue" bumper sticker on one side and a Biden/ Harris sticker on the other. There was a grown man driving. I thought what kind of cuck that had to be.
Texas is certainly not immune to the immature stupidity and absurdity of the left.
Go to the RRC office. They have it all for the district they are responsible for.
So, for the San Antonio area...cuz that be my 'hood....if you look at anywhere along 46, a bunch of cool towns along there. Bandera, Boerne, Bulverde, New Braunfels are all awesome. Bandera has a cool range too with competitions. That pin to the right of Bulverde is Cedar Ridge Range. Really cool spot. Competitions all the time, NFA dealer (you buy a can and use said can at the range while waiting to get the stamp).
Avoid the circled bullshit. That is Loop 410. You go inside there to visit, shop, see The Alamo amd Riverwalk. You don't live there. All those flags I have pinned inside there were mostly work related at Lackland AFB and gun shops, because 'Murica.
Not necessarily. TX has its share of homegrown libtards so it is foolish and short sighted to think only transplants are the problem. For too long Texans have rested on the, "it's only down in Austin" mantra, as their state was transformed around them.
I'm a transplant, but I also fled from California due to CaliCommies and want all the freedom all the time, forever.
ETA: just purchased my first suppressor. Now, we wait for the Tax Man to approve my shit.
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Those towns are all within easy commuting of San Antonia so WILL eventually fill in as bedroom communities. You can already see the growth along the roads. Filling up with liberals that work in and love the amenities/night life of San Antonio but want to, "live in the country". Which drives the locals out due to rising costs and totally changes the feel of those communities.
Yes it is but still something to take into consideration if one doesn't want to keep moving to avoid the idiots.
If you are around PK I believe your office is in Wichita Falls, but don't quote me. If you look at the lease sign which must be on their entrance to the property it will give you the lease name, lease number and current operator. You can call the office or go to them and get who the operator is. They can also help you with the surrounding leases. I still have maps from my place that showed all of the surrounding lease names, but the leaseholders can change on a dime, especially for stripper leases. They can get you that. I have no idea if this is online. Hope this helps.
That lease bonus you are talking about is called an "override". That term may be helpful in your investigation and the RRC should have that info as well. Whomever they are selling oil to should also have that as they are the ones cutting the checks to those parties.
You pretty much nailed it haha. Ive driven by Seguin multiple times and it looks nice. I have not stopped though, so I dont know what the people are like.
^Agree, great info, and the range sounds great, but hoping I won't need to go to one! As long as I'm outside city limits, and assuming I have property, can't I simply shoot off the back porch, or is this highly variable based on locale? I saw one ranch on Zillow yesterday that was within an exotic animal preserve - assume I can't shoot there 
^Agree, great info, and the range sounds great, but hoping I won't need to go to one! As long as I'm outside city limits, and assuming I have property, can't I simply shoot off the back porch, or is this highly variable based on locale? I saw one ranch on Zillow yesterday that was within an exotic animal preserve - assume I can't shoot there
If you're living outside of city limits, you can shoot from your back porch. At least this has been my experience, been living in TX all my life and i can shoot here where i live as it is county and not city.
Obviously, you need to make sure not to shoot in direction of other people or houses, but you already know that.
Be sure to look at your local laws as well.
In Texas you better know damn good and well what your backstop is. A stray bullet that crosses a fenceline could get you a visit from a game warden at a minimum. This is some official "do NOT fuck around and find out" subject matter. It can get serious.^Agree, great info, and the range sounds great, but hoping I won't need to go to one! As long as I'm outside city limits, and assuming I have property, can't I simply shoot off the back porch, or is this highly variable based on locale? I saw one ranch on Zillow yesterday that was within an exotic animal preserve - assume I can't shoot there
Do not underestimate how sincere the average Texan is about property lines.
I live about 45 min north of down town dallas in an up and coming community. 15 min east and it nothing but rural sprawling land, horse and cattle farms and a nice 1200yard range to shoot at!
someone mentioned earlier making sure you homestead your land. This is super important. Lots of people moving to texas are not aware of this. It’s easy 10min of paperwork. It will reduce your tax burden and depends if in your status, VET, retired, disabled it will lock in certain parts of the tax rate. So for instance if your retired when you homestead the portion of the property taxes associated with the schools will be locked in. It is one of the more volatile portions of your tax rate with the highest growth potential so locking it in Early is important.
homesteading your primary property is also important to reduce your asset exposure in a liability law suit. God forbid you get sued they can not go after your homesteader primary residence.
someone mentioned earlier making sure you homestead your land. This is super important. Lots of people moving to texas are not aware of this. It’s easy 10min of paperwork. It will reduce your tax burden and depends if in your status, VET, retired, disabled it will lock in certain parts of the tax rate. So for instance if your retired when you homestead the portion of the property taxes associated with the schools will be locked in. It is one of the more volatile portions of your tax rate with the highest growth potential so locking it in Early is important.
homesteading your primary property is also important to reduce your asset exposure in a liability law suit. God forbid you get sued they can not go after your homesteader primary residence.
Of course, any rational person should expect at the very least a severe beating for shooting into someone else's property. My q was just relating to laws, as I would hope common law and common sense (as above) are the rules in a free state.
Not really directed at you, but more of a general statement thrown into the universe. I have seen dickheads throw pot shots that hit cattle, houses and in one case a person asleep in the house. Of course there must be an open season on windmills, since they are so cheap (sarc). I also have seen people catch felonies for shooting up deer blinds out of season, shooting animals that were in others' pastures without permission, etc. All stupid stuff.
Boerne is a cool spot and anywhere up that Frio River Valley towards Leake is gold.
And one of our favorite BBQ spots is in Sisterdale - Blackboard BBQ.
i thought about moving from CA to TX several years ago when my employer moved for tax reasons.
that year it seemed like it was 90+ for 3 straight months around the dallas area, so i nixed that idea.
still would have been nice to buy a place 3 times as big for 1/2 the price.
that year it seemed like it was 90+ for 3 straight months around the dallas area, so i nixed that idea.
still would have been nice to buy a place 3 times as big for 1/2 the price.
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I like Garrison Brothers. Down at the local Specs they have a whole selection of small batch Texas bourbons. Shit is dangerous.
I have lived all over this great country and driven all over Texas and the only part of Texas I would live in is the Hill Country. Every time I drive up Wichita Falls to see Rippetoe this is confirmed. The whole Dallas area is just as bad.
Awesome. Garrison is really unique - love the corn nose. It's my go to bourbon for neat or a small rock. Would love to try all the artisan producers.
This might be what you are looking for in Pecos County:
Countyrecords.com: 1/1/1980-12/31/2020 - Free Index search $350/month up to 200 documents then $2 per document or $4.00 per document or $1.00 per page.
Texasfile.com: Index Searches are free, view doc $2.00 to purchases $1.00/page
Texaslandrecords.com: $1/page or $1000.00/month (unlimited images and searches included)
Courthousedirect.com: .50/page or $100/month Searchable index 1983-present, grantor/grantee images 1984-present, Documents 1882-present.
There are other resources for other counties in Texas, but that should get you started with Pecos. You will notice that if you use multiple services, you can pick up recent activity cheap.
You were correct the first time. A bonus paid in additional to royalties to the owner of the executive estate owners of a mineral estate. That last bit is key. It does not go to severed NPRI owners of the mineral estate. Typically stated on a per acre basis. I.E. $6,500/acre bonus @ 3/16ths royalty.
I believe that the override that he is referring to is the royalty in addition to the standard 1/8th in an oil and gas lease. Multiple flavors of overrides that are often confused even by landmen. Oversimplification is to say lease overrides are based upon active production and negotiated in the royalty clause of an oil and gas lease or subsequently conveyed by the lessee through assignments or reservation. Not to be confused with non-executory interest in the mineral estate which confusingly are also referred to as overrides in casual parlance.
Also note, that in Pecos and Reeves Counties, you have a special classification of minerals, unique in the world, referred to as mineral classified lands so be careful out there.
If I understand what you are trying to do correctly, I would start by pulling the county mineral tax rolls to calculate mineral payments and production values if you are just looking for people to cold call post production. If you are looking for recent leasing activity, just pull the OGL's filed in the past year and start cold calling. IHS and Drillinginfo to be used for more in depth research or just to save time.
@lariat hit it on the head.
As most did not look at the earlier thread that I posted, perhaps this will help:
Slides 4 and 6 need your attention. So pay attention.
The next 4 years are going to be real interesting.
Attachments
Ha. You are certainly right there. Portions of West Texas are not good at keeping up with their rolls. Which is a shame considering how wealthy those counties would be if they had done so during the boom.
I'm also thinking that the price per barrel will be going back up some time in the next couple of years if not this year. I'm placing bets that the current administration's tendency towards restricting production on federal lands and shutting down of interstate pipelines will drive down supply and at the same time producers will be forced to move back into proven fields to meet their production commitments.
Well... its complicated, although it is an incredibly interesting and uniquely Texan story. By 1894 the State realized that minerals may be of some value in the State of Texas and decided that minerals would be reserved to the state in all future patents. When the oil men first started showing up to drill without paying heed to the landowners, they were greeted the way most trespassers are greeted in Texas. The state was forced to compromise with the landowners of mineral classified lands. The surface owners were entitled to negotiate the oil and gas leases as custodians on behalf of the state and are also entitled to a portion of the royalty and all of the bonus.
Essentially, you may not be able to convey the mineral estate in land if the original patent to that land was issued between September 1, 1895 through June 29, 1931 and were "classified mineral lands" under the Relinquishment Act of 1907.
See slide 35: https://www.nhapl.org/resources/Doc...elinquishment Act Presentation 2018 FINAL.pdf
The short explanation:
The Relinquishment Act – an Interesting Chapter in Texas History
I have recently been reading "The Big Rich: the Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil Fortunes," by Bryan Burrough. It has reminded me of a fascinating chapter in the history of Texas oil and ...
So, some Texans, being Texans, defied the restrictions by executing 99 year grazing leases, effectively severing the executive rights and right to royalty revenue from the surface estate... for the next 99 years anyways.
As a result, their successors/decedents never knew they owned a surface interest. The modern result is the extreme fractionalization of the surface estate. In some extreme cases, there are hundreds of owners of the surface estate and many of whom do not know they own an interest. Conversely, imagine explaining to people why portions of their multi-generational family ranch they thought they owned, are actually owned by someone else and they only have 15 years left on the lease.
Another interesting result is that landmen who are ignorant of the complexities of mineral and surface title in this area have taken leases from people who only ever owned royalty to a now expired oil and gas lease, or worse, purchased the non-existent mineral rights from someone who they thought had a clear chain of title via mineral deeds.
A simple test is to pull the original patent from the GLO website for your tract of land and verify that it was not issued after 1907. If it was issued prior to 1895 you are good. If after 1907, you might want to dig a little more.
Galldern. There's a TON of land that just came up "for sale" in West TX.... I was gonna jump on 30-40 acres, but after reading all this, I'm definitely having second thoughts.Well... its complicated, although it is an incredibly interesting and uniquely Texan story. By 1894 the State realized that minerals may be of some value in the State of Texas and decided that minerals would be reserved to the state in all future patents. When the oil men first started showing up to drill without paying heed to the landowners, they were greeted the way most trespassers are greeted in Texas. The state was forced to compromise with the landowners of mineral classified lands. The surface owners were entitled to negotiate the oil and gas leases as custodians on behalf of the state and are also entitled to a portion of the royalty and all of the bonus.
Essentially, you may not be able to convey the mineral estate in land if the original patent to that land was issued between September 1, 1895 through June 29, 1931 and were "classified mineral lands" under the Relinquishment Act of 1907.
See slide 35: https://www.nhapl.org/resources/Documents/Publications/Presentations/2018/Relinquishment Act Presentation 2018 FINAL.pdf
The short explanation:
The Relinquishment Act – an Interesting Chapter in Texas History
I have recently been reading "The Big Rich: the Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil Fortunes," by Bryan Burrough. It has reminded me of a fascinating chapter in the history of Texas oil and ...www.oilandgaslawyerblog.com
So, some Texans, being Texans, defied the restrictions by executing 99 year grazing leases, effectively severing the executive rights and right to royalty revenue from the surface estate... for the next 99 years anyways.
As a result, their successors/decedents never knew they owned a surface interest. The modern result is the extreme fractionalization of the surface estate. In some extreme cases, there are hundreds of owners of the surface estate and many of whom do not know they own an interest. Conversely, imagine explaining to people why portions of their multi-generational family ranch they thought they owned, are actually owned by someone else and they only have 15 years left on the lease.
Another interesting result is that landmen who are ignorant of the complexities of mineral and surface title in this area have taken leases from people who only ever owned royalty to a now expired oil and gas lease, or worse, purchased the non-existent mineral rights from someone who they thought had a clear chain of title via mineral deeds.
A simple test is to pull the original patent from the GLO website for your tract of land and verify that it was not issued after 1907. If it was issued prior to 1895 you are good. If after 1907, you might want to dig a little more.
While I appreciate the compliment, I fear it may be misplaced. You just happened upon an area of title that I am uniquely acquainted with. I have given a couple of small-scale briefs (20-30 land professionals and lawyers) on the Relinquishment Act in a professional setting.
Lawyers are specialized and not all title lawyers are skilled in drafting title opinions. With over 70k attorneys in Texas, there are only a handful that I would personally trust to draft a title opinion for mineral classified lands.
For anyone that is interested, The American Association of Professional Landmen regularly gives workshops and seminars on title along with the Oil, Gas and Mineral Law Section of the State Bar of Texas.
A starting place for those that insist on doing things themselves is the Texas Title Examination Standards and the latest copy can be found here: http://www.reptl.org/DrawOnePage.aspx?PageID=67
For Oklahoma see here: http://eppersonlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/2020-Handbook-Revised-Final-1-1.pdf
If you need another state let me know, I have compiled quite a collection. Be forewarned, the information above is dangerous, as it is often just enough to get yourself into trouble. One of the things I love about Texas is that the government generally leaves you alone. It goes along that they are also not there to hold your hand either. These things are inseparable. Opposites of the same coin. What some outsiders may think is unfair, negligent or mean is often just the state not getting in the way of people exercising the right to be dumb.
Lawyers are specialized and not all title lawyers are skilled in drafting title opinions. With over 70k attorneys in Texas, there are only a handful that I would personally trust to draft a title opinion for mineral classified lands.
For anyone that is interested, The American Association of Professional Landmen regularly gives workshops and seminars on title along with the Oil, Gas and Mineral Law Section of the State Bar of Texas.
A starting place for those that insist on doing things themselves is the Texas Title Examination Standards and the latest copy can be found here: http://www.reptl.org/DrawOnePage.aspx?PageID=67
For Oklahoma see here: http://eppersonlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/2020-Handbook-Revised-Final-1-1.pdf
If you need another state let me know, I have compiled quite a collection. Be forewarned, the information above is dangerous, as it is often just enough to get yourself into trouble. One of the things I love about Texas is that the government generally leaves you alone. It goes along that they are also not there to hold your hand either. These things are inseparable. Opposites of the same coin. What some outsiders may think is unfair, negligent or mean is often just the state not getting in the way of people exercising the right to be dumb.
"Not all title attorneys skilled at drafting title opinions"... LOL. I've lost count of the number of title opinions I've seen errors in. Scary thing is, no PLM degree just I filled land band with skills enough for in-house due diligence projects.
I've run into quite a few good landmen, very well qualified, same with oil and gas attorneys. Unfortunately it seems the majority couldn't find their ass with two hands, indian guide and a key map
I've run into quite a few good landmen, very well qualified, same with oil and gas attorneys. Unfortunately it seems the majority couldn't find their ass with two hands, indian guide and a key map
I couldn't agree with you more. The lack of a PLM degree probably helped in running title. Unless they intern at a Major oil company and get into project management, its just another bachelor's degree. For field work, I don't find exceptional benefit for the degree that I can't find with equal measure in a history or math student.
A bit of landman humor. This has been floating around for years, but in case you haven't seen it, enjoy the cover letter. https://mcsmith.blogs.com/eastern_district_of_texas/files/title_opinion.pdf
A bit of landman humor. This has been floating around for years, but in case you haven't seen it, enjoy the cover letter. https://mcsmith.blogs.com/eastern_district_of_texas/files/title_opinion.pdf
Lol... I can certainly appreciate that link, thank you for posting. It reminded me of a project I worked in Anderson County Texas.
There was a man who had been married several times and had several girlfriends... A real womanizer. He would regularly give out interest that he never owned via quit claim deed. It became obvious that he had no interest or had given away all his interest it one time. The problem was Prior oil and gas companies head given him a lease and these other alleged landowners leases. Either a, the previous land man we're doing a front porch title or B, didn't know how to run title. Not uncommon.
Sadly, I see that title companies, the same ones used when purchasing a home, struggle to run accurate title. I was going to go work for this one particular company here in Houston the number of years ago. They gave me about a half dozen different properties to run to which I had completed in a day and a half. When I turned it in they told me it was supposed to last all week... LOL. Simple surface title for residential property only going back 30 years... all on computer, didn't have to go back to the books. I was shocked when I found how long they were taken to run the records
There was a man who had been married several times and had several girlfriends... A real womanizer. He would regularly give out interest that he never owned via quit claim deed. It became obvious that he had no interest or had given away all his interest it one time. The problem was Prior oil and gas companies head given him a lease and these other alleged landowners leases. Either a, the previous land man we're doing a front porch title or B, didn't know how to run title. Not uncommon.
Sadly, I see that title companies, the same ones used when purchasing a home, struggle to run accurate title. I was going to go work for this one particular company here in Houston the number of years ago. They gave me about a half dozen different properties to run to which I had completed in a day and a half. When I turned it in they told me it was supposed to last all week... LOL. Simple surface title for residential property only going back 30 years... all on computer, didn't have to go back to the books. I was shocked when I found how long they were taken to run the records
Randolph AFB at Universal City was one of the nicest Will ever served at, building wise. Frankly I liked the Dyess better. (Abilene) His last assignment at McConnell (Wichita Kansas) had some fine folks. My point, living near Air Force Bases can make housing a difficult issue.
Getting back to the subject at hand, the two ranges just outside of New Braunfels were really nice. Canyon Creek lake is a really nice lake as well. The Riverwalk was really interesting. Still, not sure I would want to live near such large cities. (San Antonio and Austin. Especially Austin.) Being real close to services/stores is pretty nice, but when the crowds move in, this country boy is ready to Move Out!
