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Sample

What a findings list looks like

This is a whole findings list, from a review of a made-up title packet on a made-up tract. The packet was seeded with the kinds of errors we look for: a missed conveyance, a wrong decimal and a lease shown expired with no release of record. Below is every line of it; the PDF is the form you receive.

The tract is SAMPLE-TX-01, the same made-up tract as our sample land packet. Here the packet under review came from another land company (also made up), with errors put in on purpose.

Summary

The review

Packet reviewed
Runsheet (12 lines), MOR, lease status sheet and title issues list (2 items). Cut-off 09/30/2026, 5:00 PM. Prepared for the seller by another land company (made up).
Sent by
Sample buyer (made up).
Decision it supports
Offer to buy the 1/4 MI of Daniel A. Calloway in [T].
Lands
NE/4 Sec 14, Blk 9, Red Draw Ry Co Svy, A-1187, Caliche County, Texas (160.00 ac MOL). Called [T] below. Caliche County is made up.
What we checked
Each runsheet line against its instrument; the chain from patent to the cut-off for instruments the packet missed; MOR fractions and decimals; lease and unit status against the county records and the state oil and gas commission records; the title issues list against the chain.
Record period
05/02/1883 to 09/30/2026, 5:00 PM, the packet's own cut-off.
Reviewed by
Gerald Ward, Our Landmen LLC. 10/06/2026.
Wrong32 high, 1 low
Missing43 high, 1 medium
Right10items checked against the instrument and found right

What it changes for this decision

  1. The 1/4 MI being bought is under OGL OPR 1290/14 to Sandhill Operating, LLC, with no release of record. The lease is pooled in the Calloway 14 Unit (OPR 1318/402), and the unit well reports production through 07/2026. The packet shows it expired and open; the examiner decides whether it is maintained (F-1, F-2).
  2. It bears 1/2 of a fixed 1/64 NPRI under DR 74/190: 0.00781250 of production, tract basis. The packet carries 0.00195313 (F-5).
  3. Besides the unit designation, the packet misses the 2011 MD from Glenn E. Strahan to Thornbush Royalty Partners, LP and Thornbush's 2023 lease. They do not touch the Calloway 1/4, but the MOR names the wrong owner and the leased fraction of record is 1/2 MI, not none (F-3, F-4).

Severity

High
Changes who owns, a decimal, or lease status.
Medium
Changes the curative, or what an examiner is likely to require.
Low
Citation or form. No change to ownership.

F-1 to F-7

Findings

F-1 Wrong Severity: High

Lease status sheet, line 1; MOR, Daniel A. Calloway

Packet says
OGL OPR 1290/14 expired 03/01/2026 at the end of its primary term. Daniel A. Calloway 1/4 MI open.
Record shows
OGL OPR 1290/14, Inst. No. 2023-001455, dtd 03/01/2023, rec 03/20/2023, Daniel A. Calloway to Sandhill Operating, LLC: 3 yr primary term, 1/4 royalty, pooling clause. No release of record through the cut-off. Designation of Pooled Unit OPR 1318/402 pools it in the Calloway 14 Unit (F-2). Calloway 14 Unit 1H, API 42-999-30017, completed 11/2025, reports production through 07/2026 on the state commission records.
Instrument
OPR 1290/14; OPR 1318/402; commission production report, API 42-999-30017
What it changes
No release or other instrument ending OPR 1290/14 is of record, and the unit well reports production after the primary term. The packet's "expired" has no instrument behind it. Whether the lease is maintained is for the examiner. MOR status: Leased, OPR 1290/14, no release of record.
Fix in the packet
Lease sheet: no release of record; pooled by OPR 1318/402; unit production reported through 07/2026. MOR status: Leased.

F-2 Missing Severity: High

Runsheet; lease status sheet

Packet says
No unit designation of record.
Record shows
Designation of Pooled Unit OPR 1318/402, Inst. No. 2025-003390, dtd 06/02/2025, rec 06/10/2025, Sandhill Operating, LLC: Calloway 14 Unit, 640 ac, all Sec 14. Pools the leases in OPR 1290/14, OPR 1290/22 and others.
Instrument
OPR 1318/402
What it changes
[T] is in a unit of record, and the leased 1/2 MI is pooled. The packet's lease status was built without it (F-1).
Fix in the packet
Add the designation to the runsheet and the lease sheet.

F-3 Missing Severity: High

Runsheet; MOR, Glenn E. Strahan line

Packet says
MOR: Glenn E. Strahan, 1/4 MI, unleased, vesting AOH DR 212/65. The runsheet ends the Strahan line at the AOH.
Record shows
MD OPR 1022/618, Inst. No. 2011-004417, dtd 07/22/2011, rec 08/01/2011, Glenn E. Strahan to Thornbush Royalty Partners, LP: all of grantor's int. in [T], an undiv. 1/4 MI. Recites AOH DR 212/56. No conveyance out of Thornbush of record.
Instrument
OPR 1022/618
What it changes
Thornbush Royalty Partners, LP is the owner of record of that 1/4 MI. Glenn E. Strahan comes off the MOR.
Fix in the packet
Add the MD to the runsheet. MOR line to Thornbush Royalty Partners, LP, 1/4 MI, 40.0000 NMA.

F-4 Missing Severity: High

Runsheet; lease status sheet

Packet says
No lease of record from Strahan.
Record shows
OGL OPR 1290/22, Inst. No. 2023-001456, dtd 03/01/2023, rec 03/20/2023, Thornbush Royalty Partners, LP to Sandhill Operating, LLC: 3 yr primary term, 1/5 royalty, pooling clause. Pooled by OPR 1318/402. No release of record.
Instrument
OPR 1290/22; OPR 1318/402
What it changes
Thornbush's 1/4 MI is leased of record, pooled, with no release of record. With F-1, 1/2 MI (80.0000 NMA) is leased of record, not none.
Fix in the packet
Add the OGL to the runsheet and the lease sheet. MOR status: Leased, OPR 1290/22.

F-5 Wrong Severity: High

MOR, NPRI section

Packet says
Lela Ruth Pickard, 1/64 of royalty. Decimal 0.00390625.
Record shows
Royalty Deed DR 74/190, dtd 02/09/1948, rec 02/20/1948, Amos R. Calloway to Lela Ruth Pickard: a fixed 1/64 of production from [T], perpetual, no executive rights, out of grantor's 1/2 MI. The instrument does not say 1/64 of royalty.
Instrument
DR 74/190
What it changes
Carried in the instrument's words, the NPRI is 0.01562500 of production, tract basis, borne by the Calloway 1/2 MI: Daniel A. Calloway and the Mae Calloway Ferris line each bear 0.00781250, not 0.00195313. On the 1/4 being bought (1/4 royalty under OPR 1290/14), the royalty decimal, tract basis before unit allocation, is 0.05468750; on the packet's reading it would be 0.06054688.
Fix in the packet
Carry the NPRI as a fixed 1/64 of production. The examiner decides how the clause is construed; the packet should carry its words and flag it.

F-6 Missing Severity: Medium

Title issues list

Packet says
Two items: the Ferris line (no probate or AOH) and Pickard's successors. Nothing on the Strahan AOH.
Record shows
AOH DR 212/56, dtd 03/04/1985, rec 03/12/1985, for Wendell P. Strahan, d. 1979 intestate, no probate of record. The affiant, Carol Strahan Wyatt, is one of the two heirs it names.
Instrument
DR 212/56
What it changes
Adds a curative item touching 1/2 MI (Wyatt 1/4; Thornbush 1/4 through Glenn E. Strahan). The examiner decides whether a supplemental AOH from a disinterested affiant is required. It does not touch the Calloway 1/4 being bought.
Fix in the packet
Add the item to the title issues list and the MOR comments.

F-7 Wrong Severity: Low

Runsheet, AOH line; MOR comment

Packet says
AOH cited as DR 212/65.
Record shows
The AOH is recorded at DR 212/56.
Instrument
DR 212/56
What it changes
Citation only.
Fix in the packet
Correct the citation.

MOR

The MOR against the record

Mineral rows foot to 1/1 on both. Surface: Bitterlake Cattle Company, LLC, 1/1, on both (R-6).

Table scrolls sideways.

OwnerInterestPacketRecordFinding
Daniel A. Calloway1/4 MIUnleasedLeased, OPR 1290/14; no release of record; pooledF-1
Mae Calloway Ferris, dec'd1/4 MIUnleased; last holder of recordSameR-7
Carol Strahan Wyatt1/4 MIUnleasedSameR-8
Glenn E. Strahan1/4 MIUnleasedOff the MOR; conveyed by OPR 1022/618F-3
Thornbush Royalty Partners, LP1/4 MINot shownLeased, OPR 1290/22; no release of record; pooledF-3, F-4
Lela Ruth PickardNPRI1/64 of royalty; 0.00390625Fixed 1/64 of prod.; 0.01562500F-5

Items checked and found right

  • R-1 Right Patent DR C/112, State of Texas to Red Draw Railway Company, 1883. All Sec 14.
  • R-2 Right WD DR 9/301 (1901) to Thomas J. Haskett; WD DR 31/77 (1919) to Amos R. Calloway, NE/4. VL retained, rel. DR 33/140.
  • R-3 Right MD DR 58/412 (1937), Calloway to Wendell P. Strahan, undiv. 1/2 MI. Severance carried right.
  • R-4 Right Royalty Deed DR 74/190 (1948), Calloway to Lela Ruth Pickard: on the runsheet with the right parties, dates and citation. How the MOR carries it is F-5.
  • R-5 Right Will, Cause No. 1962-P-018 (PR 6/220): Calloway's surf. and 1/2 MI to Daniel A. Calloway 1/2 and Mae Calloway Ferris 1/2.
  • R-6 Right WD OPR 455/233 (1999) to Bitterlake Cattle Company, LLC, surface only, minerals reserved. Surface owner on the MOR right; CAD R0118714 agrees.
  • R-7 Right Mae Calloway Ferris, dec'd, last holder of record of 1/4 MI, no lease of record. Title issue listed.
  • R-8 Right Carol Strahan Wyatt, 1/4 MI by AOH, no lease of record.
  • R-9 Right ROW OPR 1101/77 (2014), West Plains Gathering, LLC, 30 ft strip, surface easement.
  • R-10 Right DOT OPR 1188/540 (2019), Prairie Rim Bank, N.A., surface lien, open of record.

Searches

Searches made, and what the review does not cover

Table scrolls sideways.

SearchOfficePeriod
Grantor and grantee index, every party in the chainCaliche County Clerk, DR and OPR05/02/1883 to 09/30/2026
Oil and gas leases, releases, assignments and unit designationsCaliche County Clerk, OPR10/20/1919 to 09/30/2026
Probate: Calloway, Strahan, Ferris, PickardCaliche County Clerk01/01/1937 to 09/30/2026
Wells, completions and production, Sec 14State oil and gas commissionThrough 09/30/2026
Parcel, owner and sales historyCaliche County Appraisal District, R01187141999 to 09/30/2026
  • A findings list reports the record against the packet. It is not a title opinion. The examiner decides the legal effect of each instrument.
  • Unrecorded instruments, parties in possession and matters a survey would show are outside the record.
  • Surface matters were checked against the runsheet only; no separate surface search was run.

Reviewed and signed by Gerald Ward, landman, Our Landmen LLC. A copy of each instrument cited comes with the list.

PDF

The five pages

Sample findings list, page 1: summary
Page 1. Summary. Open full size
Sample findings list, page 2: findings f-1 to f-3
Page 2. Findings F-1 to F-3. Open full size
Sample findings list, page 3: findings f-4 to f-7
Page 3. Findings F-4 to F-7. Open full size
Sample findings list, page 4: mor against the record
Page 4. MOR against the record. Open full size
Sample findings list, page 5: searches and sign-off
Page 5. Searches and sign-off. Open full size

Download the sample findings list (PDF)