Question that Im sure has been asked 1,000 times

[CoilyGirl]

Question that I'm sure has been asked 1,000 times

What are your favorite two or three lines to tell an owner when you are asking
permission to dig their yard?We are out of friends and family's properties to look in and
we have two new detectors to arrive today( yay!)

my husband has researched old home sites and has found two spots that used to have
three houses side by side (each place). The third house is one large lot from 3 lots combined.
There are no homes on the lots currently and are both in the inner city. All houses were on about one third acre but the last would have been on 3/4 acre.We will not be digging anyone's petunias!

 

[Tom_in_CA]

reply

What are your favorite two or three lines to tell an owner when you are asking
permission to dig their yard?We are out of friends and family's properties to look in and
we have two new detectors to arrive today( yay!)

my husband has researched old home sites and has found two spots that used to have
three houses side by side (each place). The third house is one large lot from 3 lots combined.
There are no homes on the lots currently and are both in the inner city. All houses were on about one third acre but the last would have been on 3/4 acre.We will not be digging anyone's petunias!

to "dig" or to "metal detect" their yard?

 

[Cycluran]

I ask to look for dropped coins and say that I won't be digging. "I only carry a knife to get them out of the ground." That knife is my trusty Lesche digging tool, which resembles a knife and can get me as deep as time will allow, if necessary.

 

[Keppy]

What are your favorite two or three lines to tell an owner when you are asking
permission to dig their yard?We are out of friends and family's properties to look in and
we have two new detectors to arrive today( yay!)

my husband has researched old home sites and has found two spots that used to have
three houses side by side (each place). The third house is one large lot from 3 lots combined.
There are no homes on the lots currently and are both in the inner city. All houses were on about one third acre but the last would have been on 3/4 acre.We will not be digging anyone's petunias!

And as i have said before ...As for me in my 40 years of detecting ....... I never had to hunt any were that i had to ask permission....... And i will never hunt any place like that........... I still say it is like begging ...And i don't beg..

 

[Alan Applegate]

The question is, who owns the land? Just because the city does, doesn't mean much at least here in my locale. I do have a trick up my sleeve, however. Two of the officers of my bank are also my good friends. I have a list of every foreclosure they own. Once the folks move out, I'm free to detect.

 

[jeff of pa]

if a empty private home, I wait till a neighbor is Outside,
then I approach, with a smile while saying something along the Line

Hi ! sorry to bother you, but I'm into metal detecting, and noticed the property
next door & was wondering who owns it, & Who I would need to ask,

And by that time I usually get a "I Do" or "he lives out of state, But I take care of the property"
type answer.

of course I already did my Homework & the questions are just me playing Dumb.

I don't ask to hunt homes if the people live in them,
I do hunt them if Offered.

& I don't knock at doors, unless I have a Name to drop
or a person to point my finger at & say he or she told me to knock ....

(personal Phobias) Since I fly off the handle at insurance salesmen,
politicians & religious Beggers,
I worry others don't want strangers bugging them either,
unless they really need help, a phone, soda, emergency coffee or a glass of water

 

[Sandman]

As for asking permission I usually follow the advice Jeff of PA gave. I give them my business card so even if they don't give me permission right then they can call me back. I ask if they lost anything that they would like me to find. Make yourself presentable and don't show up with detector in hand. You can make an appointment to hunt and I usually ask them if they would like to learn how to detect. I sometimes bring them a pie to grease the wheels. I pick up all trash and close all gates. Never steal a chicken as they notice it.

Don't ever use the word dig when asking permission to metal detect. Only use a screw driver to pop the coin out. If you can't touch the coin with the screw driver (as its deep) I leave it in the ground. If it is a relic and I am not in the woods or a field, I leave it too. If I am out of the grass or turf area I may cut a 3 sided plug with my bayonet which is my popper. Any dirt I remove goes on a plastic cloth for placing it back in the ground and you can't tell I was there.

 

[CoilyGirl]

Thanks for the replies guys.Tom we will definitely stay away from the word dig but I feel like we definitely need to let the owners of the property know we will be using a metal detector so what we say can't jump up and bite us in the butt after the fact..This is bare ground in an industrial area where houses use to be land with buildings on either side and my husband and I wrote down telephone numbers of the people who own the property.Sandman I'm known for my pies.

 

[Sandman]

Pies are great and I shouldn't eat them any more. But I always bring pies to the farmers of the fields that I hunt either with metal detectors or guns.

 

[toe2short]

If your ever in NJ, bring a pie, you can dig my yard up.

 

[jeff of pa]

Thanks for the replies guys.Tom we will definitely stay away from the word dig but I feel like we definitely need to let the owners of the property know we will be using a metal detector so what we say can't jump up and bite us in the butt after the fact..This is bare ground in an industrial area where houses use to be land with buildings on either side and my husband and I wrote down telephone numbers of the people who own the property.Sandman I'm known for my pies.

& if at all possible "Retrieve" your items, While your back is to the home owner.

Of course you don't want to do this while they are Hovering,
But if there is a chance they are sitting at a widow watching,
Make it hard for them to see you removing the items.
If you do need to go deeper, this may be scary to some home owners who actually
see you reaching into a hole to your Wrist or deeper
or see a Flap of grass laying open.

They are also less likely to see where ya dug, If they don't see exactly how you dug

 

[goldnrelics]

ask to cut the grass first then if you can metal detect it, or if they need any help with house needs

 

[CoilyGirl]

As for asking permission I usually follow the advice Jeff of PA gave. I give them my business card so even if they don't give me permission right then they can call me back. I ask if they lost anything that they would like me to find. Make yourself presentable and don't show up with detector in hand. You can make an appointment to hunt and I usually ask them if they would like to learn how to detect. I sometimes bring them a pie to grease the wheels. I pick up all trash and close all gates. Never steal a chicken as they notice it.

Don't ever use the word dig when asking permission to metal detect. Only use a screw driver to pop the coin out. If you can't touch the coin with the screw driver (as its deep) I leave it in the ground. If it is a relic and I am not in the woods or a field, I leave it too. If I am out of the grass or turf area I may cut a 3 sided plug with my bayonet which is my popper. Any dirt I remove goes on a plastic cloth for placing it back in the ground and you can't tell I was there.

I wish I could say I was going to use a screwdriver but luckily where this site is it won't matter as no one lives there. my metal detector arrived today and with it Kellyco added some really nice freebies. Got a nice Gator digger as part of the package and I can't wait to try.Jeff of Pa,that is a great idea to turn our backs to the house so they can't really tell what we're digging with and if we recover something nice that we would like to pocket.We are always very mindful of laying down a towel to put excess dirt on and filling in the holes well.

 

[Peyton Manning]

try these:
I used to live here in a previous life.

Peyton Manning said to ask you ( works well in TN, IN, CO).

When I was flying over my window was open..

 

[CoilyGirl]

Ha! Glad to see you back! Not so sure I could pass for Peyton though.

 

[Peyton Manning]

sheesh, it said "peyton said to ask you"

 

[CoilyGirl]

Payton says its A-ok but only if its o.k. with you.

 

[Peyton Manning]

go for it girlie. hey aren't you up sorta late?

 

[AQUA]

hmmm

whats wrong with just asking.....tell it like it is and what your doing while explaining how you do it and assure them you won,t hurt their land.

offer to show them all you find and will give them a 1st pick of what you find.

whats the worst they can say.......no !!!!!

I only ask to hunt there fields,,,not their lawns

or.... you could offer to hunt their lawns and just put up markers on the good targets ..then go back to them to ask what ones are ok to dig...no harm done.


you will run into rude people ..but the majority are nice people who will say yes as long as you are respectfull

 

[Frankn]

I let a friend introduce me. Actually a photograph of the neighbors house showing all the valuable items I can find. I offer a 50% split on the valuable items found. After using this method, I have them calling me to hunt other lots. Frank...