Before you sign your gas lease, check the acreage listed on your lease.

If you don’t have a surveyed copy of your lot’s dimensions, you can get it from the Deeds and Records Office in the basement of the old Tarrant County Courthouse in downtown Ft. Worth for $3.50. You’ll need a description of your property, such as Block 16 Lot 8.

Once you have the dimensions, add to the length of the lot half the distance into your front street. The street measurements should be on the surveyed copy. Most residential streets are 50 feet wide. Now, multiply your new length by the width of your property. This will give you the number of square feet in your lot.

To convert this to acreage, divide the total number of square feet in your lot by 43,560 (the number of square feet in an acre). The answer is your acreage.

This makes a difference not only in the bonus check for signing a lease but also in the royalty checks down the road. Math is important. Enjoy it!