DURHAM (AP) — Homebuilder D.R. Horton says it’s being more direct in telling homebuyers that the company keeps for itself drilling rights for natural gas under homes it sells in North Carolina.
The company’s practice of keeping drilling rights is uncommon in North Carolina and is being reviewed by the state Attorney General and the Real Estate Commission.
The Attorney General’s Office this week warned homebuyers that properties stripped of their mineral rights could be harder to refinance and could lose value at resale.
D.R. Horton told the state this week it will begin including a separate written disclosure for homebuyers to sign. The company says its sales agents tell buyers about keeping the drilling rights before the purchase contract is signed, and it says so in the contract and related documents.