Tom In Cal. We are talking about 15 acres of land with a house by the road that is vacant and boarded up. Built in the early 1900's with a chain link fence around it and no trespassing signs. And back in the woods and fields behind it is an old farm stead with all the out buildings, also vacant and you can't even see it from the road, I saw it on Google Earth. The farm place has no good traveled roads going to it only some paths through the woods and pastures around it. Don't know how old but I suspect much older than the house buy the road. Someone is keeping horses on the land, it is fenced. I go on there and the people who own the horses might think I am screwing around with their stock. To me it is obvious that the owners of the land and buildings must not mind others on their property, they look to be renting out the pastures. Could be that the horses belong to some kin that live in the area. I have no way to find out who belongs to the horses unless I stake out the place and wait for someone to come by and tend to them.
I vote for the Sheriff, he thinks the right way, but I don't want to meet one of his flying monkeys while standing on someone else's property with a metal detector and a few coins in my pocket.
I asked a simple question, I know my motives. If no one has an answer it is fine. I'll write my own letter, with my wording. I was just trying to find out if there was some wording that others have used that worked for them.
And it resulted in a legal contract with county lawyers that I could whip out and throw in the face of anyone who had heartache with my being there.
