"I just got a lease offer. What do I do next?"

Why would you review my lease offer for free?

Two honest reasons. First, offers tell us where leasing is happening, which is knowledge we value the way you value the review. Second, some owners who send us a lease offer end up wanting a different deal entirely: a better lease from us, or a sale. Most just get their answer and sign the offer they had, and that is a fine outcome too. Nobody who texts us gets a pressure campaign; they get the read they asked for.

How do I know if my lease bonus is fair?

Bonus and royalty move township by township with the play, the operator, and the timing, so the only real answer comes from what is being paid near you right now. That is precisely what we track. Send the offer and the county, and we will tell you whether the number is in the range we are seeing, below it, or strong enough to take without a second thought.

What should I look for in the lease itself?

The royalty fraction gets the attention, but the money often leaks elsewhere: a deductions clause that lets post-production costs come out of your checks, a primary term with a cheap extension option, missing depth or Pugh clauses that tie up everything you own instead of what they will drill, and warranty language that puts your title risk on you. Our read covers all of it in plain English, and our article on lease clauses goes deeper if you want the long version.

What are my options besides signing?

You can negotiate, and the offer letter is rarely the operator's best number. You can compare: we lease minerals ourselves and will tell you if we would beat the bonus or the royalty. You can sell instead, since an active leasing play often means minerals are worth more to sell than owners realize; our Before You Sign page handles that comparison. Or you can decline and wait, which is sometimes right and sometimes costs you the window. The review tells you which of those actually applies to your section.