Vacant Lots?

[JmCraz8]

Does Vacant mean city owned and public property to metal detect on?

 

[RGINN]

No.

 

[treasurehound]

Most vacant lots are privately owned and will require permission to hunt.

 

[spartacus53]

Hmmm, in a sense they are right... but as I see it, it is no longer vacant once you are standing on it...

Then again, you could get a fine for trespassing

 

[Dwight S]

No. I suggest checking the tax records or your local Geographic Iinformation Survey (GIS).

Google local county/parrish name, state, followed by GIS.

Example: johnston county NC GIS

 

[Tom_in_CA]

sure, some vacant lots are city owned. This is often true in blighted parts of towns/cities, because they were taken over for lack of property tax payment, decades ago. Like where I'm at, for instance, there's a particularly blighted portion of our city (skid row), where apparently decades ago, it just didn't pay for persons to think they could use it for any commercial purpose. Thus when buildings burned or got perpetually abandoned by the heirs, some actually went unpaid on property taxes, because the owners were simply left with no other economic choice. These become weed-choked vacant lots, with short-cut trails across them, homeless encampments, litter, etc... I would not hesitate to hunt those (if I felt the need, but obviously, they are .... by definition .... junk strewn).

Others might still be owned by someone, somewhere, albeit hundreds of miles away. Example: One time a building was torn down in this skid-row section I allude to in the above paragraph. We did fairly good during the demolition process (tokens, v nickels, barbers, etc...). And since we were there anyhow, we continued to "cave in" the soil at the lot which adjoins this one, and continued to find a spread of targets going one direction. However, we were aware that we were actually going into the next property with the bobcat tractor we were using to scrape off the top few inches (to get below the junk). So I researched through the assessor's office, to find out who owned that land beyond they invisible line in the land. Turns out it was someone hundreds of miles away. So we sent them a nice letter asking if we could have permission to scrape off all the weeds, at our own cost. Ie.: "clean it up" if we could, in doing so, take the top few inches of weeds, trash, etc... with us, at our cost (obviously, point being, so we could detect and be below the top few inches). We never got a response, so we gave up.

Now here it is, years later, and I sometimes pass by that lot. It is still there, still abandoned, still weed-choked with abandoned shopping carts, homeless camp tents, etc... A part of me thinks I could simply have done it, and no one would ever have cared less. But did you want the technical answer, or the realistic one? (or .... put another way.... do you think the homeless folk who cross through, or camp there, have asked permission? )

 

[JmCraz8]

Just curious incase I ever saw one.

 

[Killer Angel]

If you see a promising property, write down the address and then use city tax records to get the name of the owner. Call them and ask permission to hunt.

 

[kgunn]

when in dought find out

 

[buzzgator]

Dont trespass, it just makes those of us who do it the right way look bad. Metal detecting doesnt need any bad publicity. Always get permission.

 

[idigjars]

This is a good post with great information. I have seen people that dug privies on vacant lots without permission. I think permission is the best way to go. Paul

 

[liftloop]

If it is posted the right way, with sines every so many feet.. your in trouble...but if it is not the worst that is going to happen is Wait for it...is recreational trespassing...Taa Daa.. slap in the hand at least a round here any ways..There is No property safe with metal detectors on the market un less you can perform a 24,7 visual of your property.....

 

[buzzgator]

Try it in SC, $500 fine. That was a couple years ago. Have heard of one or two people detecting on paper company land that was posted no metal detecting getting machines impounded. Kind of like shooting a deer at night, byebye truck, gun, light, and a butt load of money. Besides why would you want to blatantly trespass? Bet the same people that do this talk crap about the guy that robs 7-11. Whats the difference? If you go on someones land uninvited dig up a button, coin or bullet you are stealing just the same!!!

 

[lastleg]

I have taken many a calculated risk on abandoned lots/old houses and was richly rewarded but that was years ago when youngsters
were'nt armed and looking for trouble. If you know the neighborhood these grounds are most likely to be productive. Go early and
don't stay too long. I respect buzzy's view but he probably doesn't have a full goody bag. Nobody gets hurt just rescueing a few
silvers. And leave the place like you found it.

 

[buzzgator]

Full goody bag? Uhuh. Go to downtown Charleston, SC and start taking a calculated risk, or hey maybe even try it in Richmond, Va. I md in both places, and if you seriously dont think some good ole boy wont kick ur @$$ for diggin up his dead grannys old yard try it. Its obvious you sir have no problem stealing if you are willing to enter another persons property and take or rescue what doesnt belong to you. Doing things like that give archies, and people that dont understand the hobby fuel in the fight against metal detecting. Now back to the goody bag remark, if u r implying im crazy ur dam rite! If ur implying I dont have a pretty nice collection of artifacts well ur dam wrong. Please feel free to check out my dig it folder on facebook, 4 slave tags, numerous buttons, 3 ringers out the rectum, several buckles museum quality i might add and even some silver. Have a great night.

 

[TerryC]

The reputation of us all is only as good as the last time we f__k up. The news media does much too many negative spots and only a very small amount of positive. Don't fuel the fire. Keep it legal.... keep the integrity up. TTC

 

[snakeyes]

I agree if you go onto a private lot and pick something up that dosen't belong to its stealing,but I live in an open range state, and if you don't want people or animals comming onto your property you fence them out. So I guess it about how you feel about what your doing. Its a mind over matter thing, If you don't then it don't matter

 

[buzzgator]

TerryC, I agree. What I really dont get is the guys that dont see anything wrong with going on anothers property, digging things up and thinking nothing of it! I was raised to the tune of, If it aint yours dont f__k with it!

 

[buzzgator]

Never heard of free range except in the case of livestock, but even so if you own a piece of property u shouldnt have to fence it to keep people off of it. Animals dont know better people do or at least they should! Lol

 

[NOLA_Ken]

I hunt a lot of vacant lots here in New Orleans, since Katrina the city has been on a demolition rampage and they've torn down some really old places here. Here there are a few likely prospects on who will own the lot, first obviously it might still belong to the former home owner, but that's pretty rare. Second is the city, and they don't care if you detect the lots. The city really doesn't care what you do here so long as it doesn't create a problem for them. Third is the Louisiana Land Trust who also do not care if you detect their properties, so long as you don't enter any standing structure (this is for insurance reasons they said, some of these houses are in danger of collapse at any moment). Another possibility is a private developer, but the ones I've talked to didn't mind, and I also offered to locate and mark any utility lines I might find while I was there.

The big problem I have here is that when they tear down a house, a lot of the contractors really chew the lot up, and leave a lot of brick and other debris behind, then they cover the whole thing in sand sometimes a foot deep. I have to get to them before the sand truck arrives, or it's pretty much useless to detect them.