Foreclosed Property?

[Dennis1209]

Hey Guys and Gals,

I'm sure this has been asked before but didn't find it here. On realtor sites I've run across a number of older foreclosed homes with Indian's and silver begging to see sunlight again. Some are bank owner and some are listed auction, the bank owned seldom have the mortgage company listed to contact them for permission to metal detect the property. I know that contacting the realtor or auction company I could get the legal owner and contact them to request permission. However...

The above is a lot of time involved and waiting for unknown results. My question is; has anyone taken the time to write / call out of state mortgage companies to request permission to metal detect the foreclosed property? Anyone had any positive results? I would suspect for civil liabilities and their interests their answer would be a sharp No. Thoughts?

 

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[Tom_in_CA]

.... Thoughts? ...

You're asking this on a family friendly forum, where some people think you need city's permission before you can hunt a sand box. So can you guess what the answers will be ?

 

[A2coins]

Whats the worst that could happen, and if it did happen, you've been through worse go for it. The home owner gave me permission years ago I come out every once in a while. I had no idea it was forclosed. lol

 

[Johnnybravo300]

Foreclosed properties are the easiest to snipe for coins. No one around and no one cares.
The mortgage companies are usually out of state but not like they are driving by anyway.
Try to get in and out before the meth heads come to rip out the copper plumbing.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

After the 2008-ish "market correction" in housing prices: Some cities in CA had scores of foreclosures . Many owners were backwards in their mortgages, and simply "walked away" from their loans. I remember some neighborhoods, where it wasn't unusual to see several homes, on a single block , that were boarded up. Tall grass , etc.... showing the obvious signs of abandonment. And I'm sure they were in various stages of foreclosure, bank-repossession , etc....


And at the time, I knew of a couple of guys who "made sport" of simply going yard to yard @ such locations. I suppose that *technically*, it was owned by someone, in the daisy-chain of legal steps that could take a year to sort out, re-list for sale, etc.... No doubt some big nameless faceless bank or Fannie Mae etc... in another state.

So there's the "technical" answer, and there's the "realistic" answer. It will depend on which answer you want.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

There is no "technically" to it, there is no un-owned property in America, It is still called trespassing. A person can can go to the local property records and see who owns the property, it gives the name of owner, a simple call to owner or property manager to get permission, if it is a no, so be it.

 

[dts52]

If the property is "in foreclosure" it is technically still owned by the property owner listed in the land records. The mortgage holder is represented by a local law firm and title to the property does not pass to the lender (mortgage holder) until the foreclosure sale has been approved by the court. You might get permission from the property owner, especially if he has vacated the property. It is unlikely that you will get permission from the mortgage holder or their attorney (unless you personally know the attorney) because of liability issues. It is still worth a try. You may eventually contact someone involved in the proces who gives you the okay. Once you have that, I'd say you've got the green light. Just be sure you have the name of the person. "Somebody from the bank" isn't going to satisfy a cop who gets dispatched on a trespassing call. By the same token, he probably isn't going to call the bank to verify that you have permission if you give a name.

I fully agree with Treasure_Hunter. No real property is "unowned" in the U.S. - you either have permission, or you don't. If you don't and you are on private property, that's trespassing and it's bad for the hobby.

HH
dts

 

[Mackaydon]

California is a Deed of Trust state to the extent that Deeds of Trust with Power of Sell are usually encountered versus mortgages. In a Deed of Trust situation, no court action is required; the Power of Sale is granted in the deed itself. The closest the ownership of the property may get to the courthouse is when the property is sold at public auction on the steps of the courthouse.
As has been mentioned above, liability exposure is the main reason why permission is not granted. However, if you are granted permission, make sure you get more than a name of an authorized agent(which can be denied), get it in writing; preferably, on their letterhead--good luck on that one !!

Don......

 

[Tom_in_CA]

California is a Deed of Trust state to the extent that Deeds of Trust with Power of Sell are usually encountered versus mortgages. In a Deed of Trust situation, no court action is required; the Power of Sale is granted in the deed itself. The closest the ownership of the property may get to the courthouse is when the property is sold at public auction on the steps of the courthouse.
As has been mentioned above, liability exposure is the main reason why permission is not granted. However, if you are granted permission, make sure you get more than a name of an authorized agent(which can be denied), get it in writing; preferably, on their letterhead--good luck on that one !!

Don......

Don, I always enjoy your posts. So to press on, with what you are saying here :

If a person went through the hoops to determine a vacant abandoned foreclosed-looking property WAS indeed city-owned, then .... that still doesn't make it "owned by no one" . In that case, a public entity owns it. So .... would you go ? Or does a person need to go to the city for permission ?

 

[Dennis1209]

Thanks for the input guys. Moved here to Tennessee and just now picking up metal detecting again. I didn't realize the stringent laws Tn. has on coins and relics 100+ years old in the ground. Every site around me worth hunting is either state owned, Corp. of Engineers, TVA, historical, etc. where MDing is prohibited and punishable by taking your first born son. If a Union or Confederate soldier squatted and took a dump around here, someone was directly behind him and immediately put up a historical important site and/or historical marker.

I'm just exploring alternatives and other means to legally find some places to enjoy my time with the potential of shouting, Hi Ho Silver, Away... To add insult to injury, the nearest MDing club is a long way from me in or near Nashville, TN. Anyone living in the NW Tennessee area and would like to get together to hunt; I got some 'older' hunted out public parks to go, and that's about it so far. Well not completely hunted out, I manage about one silver and a few newer wheat's some trips.

Double H

 

[Mackaydon]

Tom,

Thank you for your comment. To answer your question:
Admittedly, in my history I have been both 'safe' and 'sorry'.
Today, I'd rather be safe than sorry; I'd get permission or pass.
Don.....

 

[Johnnybravo300]

In the time you'd spend sending letters to and fro and getting shut down for no good reason you could have just detected it and been on your way. The early bird gets the worm!
Those houses aren't anything but a number to the mortgage companies and they have no real interest in them so no need to overthink it. They will turn around and sell those houses for half the value just to unload them and it's all written off anyway. If they had any real interest in those houses they wouldn't sit for years rotting away with squatters living inside!
Remember every chance you pass up there will be 100 other guys waiting to take it same as anything in life.
By the time the meek inherit the earth the strong will have already taken the treasures!

 

[Johnnybravo300]

Double

 

[Oddjob]

My question is; has anyone taken the time to write / call out of state mortgage companies to request permission to metal detect the foreclosed property? Anyone had any positive results?

To answer your question without side tracking your thread with unicorn shitte; I have only ask permission at sites that have gone through demolition, normally something else was going to be put up shortly after.

I have been told no and but times yes.

On foreclosed properties that are still standing, I have only known of a couple people, both are users here, that have gone through the process and seem to have good results.

I would suggest using the search bar for other threads, but good luck sifting through the crap because here all you have to do is have the word foreclosed in your thread and suddenly folks do not need to read the question and just jump to worse case.

Other words to avoid using among the open forum is graveyard, memorial site or monument. Such words should be reserved to the Charter Member area where folks tend to read the entire post and think before they write. Well worth and good help in there.


Just my thoughts, and good luck.

 

[Davers]

Hey Guys and Gals,

I'm sure this has been asked before but didn't find it here. On realtor sites I've run across a number of older foreclosed homes with Indian's and silver begging to see sunlight again. Some are bank owner and some are listed auction, the bank owned seldom have the mortgage company listed to contact them for permission to metal detect the property. I know that contacting the realtor or auction company I could get the legal owner and contact them to request permission. However...

The above is a lot of time involved and waiting for unknown results. My question is; has anyone taken the time to write / call out of state mortgage companies to request permission to metal detect the foreclosed property? Anyone had any positive results? I would suspect for civil liabilities and their interests their answer would be a sharp No. Thoughts?

I'm a Bad Guy , If I can not talk to a realtor or Bank, or or the owner of a property that become the local dump, in a timely manner , ill hunt such a site , i'm getting old & If i'm not hauling off large amounts of Copper Pipe , Wire , or aluminum.
It's cool. Only issues I have had were from the homeless that "Think" they are the overseers of said site, Hey that's just me & the mindset i'm in at this moment.

 

[Davers]

Foreclosed properties are the easiest to snipe for coins. No one around and no one cares.
The mortgage companies are usually out of state but not like they are driving by anyway.
Try to get in and out before the meth heads come to rip out the copper plumbing.

This is exactly what I was trying to say in my response.

 

[Davers]

There is no "technically" to it, there is no un-owned property in America, It is still called trespassing. A person can can go to the local property records and see who owns the property, it gives the name of owner, a simple call to owner or property manager to get permission, if it is a no, so be it.

True but I have severe social Anxiety .

I'm mostly in the woods but have had a couple cool realtors say "Go ahead & good Luck " but most I never could get in touch with.

I take responsibility for my actions.

 

[Clay Diggins]

I'm all for it. If nobody is around or paying attention I'll detect private property or just take anything I think might be valuable. Leave the junk behind and bask in the glow of getting away with taking property for free!

On the same note just remember if your garage door is open and you aren't paying attention your stuff is fair game. Screw that stuff about the nation being founded on the sanctity of private property. Those days are over! Take what you can when you can and hope you don't get caught.

...Right?

 

[Clay Diggins]

I had a similar situation a few years back. A huge 1800s mansion about 1/2mile from my property was foreclosed. I had my eye on it for years. The actual homeowners back then didn't want the property detected so it was a lost cause. Once it went into foreclosure it sat for nearly a year. Some neighborhood kids or druggies had broke in of course and started vandalizing. My daily drive bys to and from work I noticed there was a groundsmen that kept up on maintance. After stopping and talking with this individual, he informed me the house was owned by the bank who hired him to groundkeep. He called his contact at the bank on spot and I explained to the manager my intentions over phone and to my surprise they said have fun. What helped while trying to convince the person from the bank was the permission and liability waivers I carry just in case. His biggest concern was injury. Once I signed my liability waiver, the rep took it with him and told me I was welcomed back anytime.

Banks don't own foreclosed property ... ever. It's against the banking laws.

You've been fooled by a guy with a lawnmower and a phone.

 

[Johnnybravo300]

Yeah it's really something to think about for this next upcoming market crash. If the housing bubble implodes as bad as some say it will there will be abandoned houses everywhere! Silver for the taking!

Honestly I dont respect the banks or mortgage companies enough to bother asking them haha. You might get a strange look from a neighbor but let's be real, people dont go outside anymore.