Vacant Lots?

[lastleg]

Well buzzy, IMHO detectorists who brag about the slave tags they have show wanton disregard for feelings of slave decendants.
Don't worry about archkies down here in Texas. We run em all out of here years ago. Sent em back to bother you Southern
Gentlemen.

 

[buzzgator]

well Mr no leg to stand on, so in ur IMHO saving history such as slave tags is disrespectful to the decendents of slaves? U r full of it! its ok for you to trespass and steal, but preserving history or as you say bragging about my full goody bag is a bad thing. you are a joke right? Mr you asked for it when you implied I had no goody bag, LOL. Seriously stick to ur tot lots and stealing from vacant lots. I have a very clear concious as far as where my finds came from no trespassing involved. Now if you have any more snide remarks please feel free to take it to the PM options as this thread was about the vacant lots not who has the most toys.

 

[TimC]

Slave tags. We went from vacant lot to slave tags. Man has been enslaving his brother since the beginning of mankind. American slavery, however repugnant, would not have been if the tribes in Africa did not sell their captives to buyers from other countries. History is informative and shameful at the same time.

 

[lastleg]

So No Gator to speak of: You're telling all us that after watching a vacant lot grow weeds waist high for a couple years and seeing
no signs of activity and no owner to speak to that detecting there is the same as theft? You must not have been around this
hobby when it first started because if you had called detectorists of the 60's, 70's and 80s thieves you would have received in-
depth training on survivorship. In my working years I carried countless mail routes and would note likely lots needing attention.
If I could find no objections or no trespassing signs my buddies and I felt justified to go there, park, get out detectors and search
the easment, giving time for neighbors to voice complaints or approval before setting foot on private property. It's a different
world out there now. I confine my hunting to property of relatives and a couple of ghosttowns. One these is owned by friends
whom we donate relics for a museum on location; the other is on NF in a western state that is still tourist friendly.

We grew up in different cultures it seems. The old days are gone for good and the good ole boys who couldn't wait to punch the
clock and get out to the latest hotspot are passing time on the forums and dreaming of the days that coins and rings were
abundantly available to the willing. Good luck to ya.

 

[buzzgator]

Sir, Im just stating a fact, if you dont have permission you are trespassing, no ifs ands or buts about it. And if you trespass and dig a ring, coin, or button and leave said property with you have stolen it. As for good ole days no there not gone its just like it was before, if you took something that didnt belong to you back then it was still stealing. Now as for a survialist education/lesson I doubt your detecting buddies of days gone by could teach me much more than I already know. Semper Fi, Always Loyal.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Hey buzzgator, just curious: let's say you are walking through a part of your town, which has vacant lots here and there. You get to one, with ....... as last-leg says, has knee high weeds, abandoned shopping carts, and has been this way for years. No fences, no signs, no nothing. And let's say you see a short-cut path that cuts through it (well-worn through the years of everyone cutting across this corner). Do you: A) take the short-cut path on your way to your destination? Or B) walk all the way to the end of the block, to get around it?

 

[TimC]

Hey Tom,
Sad to say, the condition of a property doesn't change the fact that someone owns it. I MD alot myself, but I steer clear. I live in AZ now. Some of the mining claims out here haven't been trod on in quite some time. Even picking up a "pretty" stone could get you in alot of trouble, or even shot. PRIVATE PROPERTY... GET PERMISSION. If getting an OK is too much of a bother, than you become part of the crowd that makes MD'ng bad for the honest hobbyist. Short cuts don't assume permission.
TKC

 

[mrs.oroblanco]

If its not yours, and you don't have permission - stay out. Simple.

And, by the way - if you DO go on someone's private property without their permission, and you find a slave tag, or a V nickle, or whatever, you have
STOLEN something of value from them.

We, as md-ers are having enough problems - we don't need someone proving that some of us are thieves on top of it. You are NOT protecting history if you are keeping things, or selling them - when you find them on someone else's property - you are stealing something of value. I have places in 4 states, and, when I get there - guess what I do for a pasttime? First, I clean up all the crap that people left, then I detect on the property that I pay taxes on.

Beth

 

[buzzgator]

to answer your question Tom no i dont as i said in a prior comment if it aint yours dont f___k with it. if some people think that trespassing and stealing now or in the past is ok well thats just wrong. if you dont have permission how can you justify it in your mind that its ok? right is right and wrong is wrong there is no fuzzy grey area.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Beth, buzz, & Tim. I was no longer talking about metal detecting or "taking things". I asked if you take a well-worn short-cut path through a vacant lot, or go around an entire block, instead? Forget md'ing for a moment. Here's a pix example of one for you: Do you walk the path to the parking garage, or go to the end of the block?

 

[buzzgator]

obviously you didnt read my reply. first line says

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Ok Buzz. Fair enough . Just letting you know that a lot of people would look at that picture I posted, and say they wouldn't hesitate to walk the shortcut trail seen there. But if a person is of the type"risk assessment " level that they wouldn't step off any sidewalk. ... ok.

 

[spartacus53]

It's time for the fast, spit, curve ball

What I find most interesting is everyone asking for permission to MD property, which is correct.

But.......

What if the person you're asking is only a renter Are you assuming that he is the property owner, or, I bet most of you just go on his word.. It's OK to dig here.

 

[Jersey Hunter]

OK, I have to ask this: What if you've located a property you would like to detect and looked up the owner info. Only info available is the person's name and the address is the same as the property you want to detect, however it is vacant? Now how do you go about finding permission? I've tried looking up the name online, phonebook, etc.

 

[TimC]

I feel if the property looks like it would cough up something good, and the regular route to the owner comes to a dead end, check with the county recorders office, etc. Someone is paying taxes on it. TKC

 

[CMDiamonddawg]

Years ago , I would go on vacant land and if any owners would show up , he or she would say .." it's ok you didn't ask .. your just a kid ".. much older now , I ask permission in the few years I'm not going to ask and I am hoping if any owners show up , he or she is gonna say .. "it's ok you didn't ask .. your just an old man"

CMD

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Tim, often-times those addresses of records are nothing but a P.O. box, for an LLC (or family trust or something) where you never get a reply to your letter. And ..... heck, it can be in other states, or cities faaarrr away (the next of kin who I guess inherit the blighted thing, and just let it sit, while their 1000 miles away). Lest you think I dream up something to just *sound* so innocuous, that's exactly what occured at a lot I researched in my city: A blighted ghetto lot, next to an old china-town building that was demolished. We got seateds, tokens, etc.... when the demo occurred. And as we hunted we (gasp) even got a few on the periphery/borders of the vacant lot (as we continued to "cave in" the sides of the demolition site border, where there must have been wooden porches back in the board-&-batton days of store-fronts). It occured to us: "wouldn't it be fun to just scrape out with a flat shovel, to continue this line we've already started, where it seems to lead further into the next lot?"

So we did all our homework, as you suggest, and found just that: some sort of distant (150 miles away) next of kin, who .... apparently had let it sit for the past 40 yrs. Meanwhile, short-cut trails criss-cross it, homeless persons pitch their tents (as it's right next to the rescue-mission soup kitchen), abandoned shopping cards, weeds, etc... Hmmmmm

 

[spartacus53]

Ring, ring, ring..... Anyone home?

How many ever really bother to see if the person living at a residence is really the landowner and not just a renter

Dollars to donuts, none of us do that

 

[TimC]

I wish there was an easy answer, Tom. I will be 63 yrs old in a couple of months. My health tells me I might not make 64, but that being put aside, when I was a kid if we dug, played around, or just cut across a vacant lot it was "there just being kids". Now, if I dug (i.e. MD'd) on a vacant lot the remark would be "your old enough to know better". Today, though, it seems that everyone is sue crazy. Sure, I would love to detect every unoccupied lot I came across. Wow, it would be more profitable than placer mining! But I have no crazy urge to fill the pockets of low down, scumbag, greedy, good for nothing, smiley faced , not worth my dime or time lawyers over a "I thought no-one lived here". (If I end up in hell... I'll see all of them I dealt with. If I land in heaven.. I'm afraid I'll never see one again.) TKC

 

[mrs.oroblanco]

Spartacus53,

I'll take the bet - which do I win - the dollar or the donuts?

I know - and always find out - who owns property.

Furthermore, I have asked permission - and, knock on wood - have always been granted permission - though, I admit, I have changed my mind on a couple of occasions - such as the lady who wanted every single thing I found.

Beth