I enjoy talking to our readers. They often have a question, or sometimes it is something they want to make sure other readers know about from their experience. This is one of those times.

A reader from Carroll County called me asking me to warn readers about something that happened to him and his wife. In the middle of it, I learned something new.

Property documents

Larry Carman, near Harlem Springs, called and asked that I warn readers to check their deeds and land records. He and wife of over 30 years found out that her name is not recorded properly on the shale gas pooling unit papers.

Carman told me that they both signed the lease, but when they checked landaccess.com, not all of the papers are recorded properly with the Carroll County recorder’s office. They both went to the courthouse, attempting to get the error remedied, but got nowhere.

Carman said they are concerned because they are worried about the future and if something drastic happens, it could take years to fix the mistake.

Carman’s point was that everyone should dig into their property records and make sure everything is recorded correctly. He said he has contacted the oil and gas driller he signed with, but is not getting anywhere.

Landaccess.com

This brings me to my next point, I had never heard of landaccess.com before my conversation with Carman. There are only certain counties with information accessible, but those that are, makes the website very interesting and best of all, it is free!

Those who own land in Carroll County with access to the Internet, should check out their property. You can also dig through the website to see if your property is included in a pooling unit.

There are 27 counties on the website, where you can search the property records. In eastern Ohio, the counties included are Mahoning, Belmont, Carroll, Washington, Coshocton, Richland and Athens.

For Carman, the website showed him some errors that he needs to get corrected before he gets caught off guard.

It won’t hurt everyone to double check their property records for any potential mistakes!