This is what I was going to comment on. I was looking to buy 40acres out east . It came with both water and mineral so I had many of the same questions. I would not buy any land that did not come with them explicitly once I found out what it really meant. Not a lawyer so all comments should be taken as such. If you don't own mineral rights they can park a well 50yds off your back door and you can't do squat about it. Complete with a fire tube if required. I had nightmares about hearing the 'squeak' .... 'Squeak' every night as some jerk drives on my property at 2AM to check the damn thing. As for water, if you have well water, my understanding is, you have to have the water rights or you will be paying whom ever does. Even if you don't have them, if you want a well in the future... It also makes sense just from a "you own you home" standpoint.

Quote Originally Posted by Zundfolge View Post
I'm not sure that's correct. If someone else owns mineral rights to your property you may not be allowed by law to block their access to those minerals (much like if someone owns a piece of property that is surrounded by other people's property, you have to allow them to access their property even if that means crossing your property to get there ... I believe it's called "Easement" or "Right of way" or something like that) I don't know if this counts for mineral rights.