Advice on how to talk to landowner?

[CaptJohn]

I Have some reasearch indications that there is several caches of coins on a persons property. I have looked up records and know his name address, ph#. BUT now, wanting to test the location so Bad.... how do I best approach him... I would accept a 70/30 split, him getting the 70, should I mention that early.. whats the best way to make the 1st contact, Call him, send a letter, then call, visit him at home...?? any and all advice welcomed!!!

 

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[Jeffro]

Don't reveal anything you know, don't even offer a split. Approach him/her in the best manner possible and feel them out a bit first. Be casual. Ask if its OK if you come around 'sometime' and poke around a bit. Use vague terms like 'this area has a lot of history', 'never know what you're gonna find', etc.

It is a good idea to have SOME terms defined before you make a find, but YOU'VE put all the energy into researching this thing, don't give it away for free!

I don't advocate cutting and running either, but doggone it, hitting a decent find does strange things to people.

After you get permission, poke around a bit and see what comes up. Don't go after the cache at first. Show all finds and see how they react. Feel them out a bit. Then draw up a fair contract after you know who you're dealing with.

Might be you just found a new best friend with lots of leads and similar interests. Might just be a real stiff who gets greedy on an old rusty piece of iron... never know. Draw up the paper accordingly and get it legal, if you get permission in the first place, that is.

 

[CaptJohn]

Great Thought! " Be casual " ask if I can poke around, tell him about the Tales if he doesnt know ..... (because if he doesn't and after I contact him, he may ask around and find out)l
If he seZ NO! as in a HELL NO!!!! way, then he may know or have found some of it. Then determine another approach, ask again later... BUT DO I call him 1st, or drive up and knock on the Door?

 

[Jeffro]

I like the personal approach the best. Look presentable and don't go to the door with your detector in hand, looking impatient.... LOL! There's several threads on here with some amazing ideas on this very subject. Do a search for "permission", or just scroll through the posts. Pretty neat ideas.

 

[Monk]

CAPT JOHN, I'd say a face to face would be a must! But you'd only have one shot to get him to see things your way. Likely the odds are high he'd say NO! ----- What would you do if some fellow came to your home and told you there was a good chance there was money buried on your place?----- Plus he may only be a renter?
I'd go to the court house first and see who owns the place and if the owner was paying taxes from that address. If it was a rental property, get in line to rent the place, let the owner know you want to rent the place next chance.
You feel there's a good chance there could be $100,000 in gold and silver? Man that could be worth over a $1,000,000. So if your sure enough that what you want is there, go for the gold baby. BUY THE PLACE. You might just be able to if you talk to the owner right. At least tell the owner to get in touch when he does. And call back on him every so often. You got the idea, but don't ever say anything about coin being buried there. You don't want to tip him off. Or the game likely will be over. GOOD LUCK

 

[CaptJohn]

What would I do if someone knocked on my door and said can they look around? I would say OK, I'm going with you every step of the search. .

 

[mxtswinger]

This is the first mention of an LRL. That throws a whole new light. If someone sees you with that they are going to know immediately that you are either 1) "out of your mind", or 2)you are after something "really big". This is not a critique of LRL, since I don't know squat about them, just some advice on human nature.

If you don't have a normal, everyday metaldetector, get one and permission to use it as a "cover" for your LRL.

The neighboring property is a good idea also to be used as a character reference.

All the previous advice on playing dumb and evaluating the owner is good. Hopefully you live close to this site. If you are driving 50 miles to hunt the place, that could cause some suspicion as to your big plans.

Best of luck!

 

[CaptJohn]

I felt I needed to tell yall I use a LRL. But if I were him, I would have the place watched after somone asked me.

 

[Monk]

CAPT JOHN An idea just hit me! Sounds like this may be undeveloped land?
Why not see if you can lease it? Have a good story why you'd like to lease it. If the land owner would , it would give you a right to be there. But still keep treasure hunting under cover and do it on the sly.

 

[CaptJohn]

Wow that would be great! I've thought to ask if he wants to sell part of it, but then if he doesn't, what do I ask for the next time, He will not trust me at all then if I ask to MD.

 

[LadyDigger]

Capt John, my hubby and I, just about an hour ago, asked for permission for our first time. (I was so nervous!!!) We approached them personally. Actually, it was a store, where work is beginning to take place to put up a building (little cafe / resturant). They have a couple more pine trees to cut down.

We didn't speak to the owner, but they put us in touch with the Maintenance / Grounds Keeper. Really nice guy and he told us we should not have any problems. Of course, he said weekends would be better.

We gave him a form, that gives us permission to detect and also with a liability, incase we hurt ourselves during our detecting, that does not hold them (store/land/city) liable for any claims. He was real happy about that part. We also mentioned to him if they had any stipulations, to please put it on the permission form (i.e., times, dates, boundaries, etc.)

He said he will contact the owner personnally today and he will call us TODAY.

However, due to the location and history of this particular land, we did offer to share with the owner (and a book is now in progress on this particular piece of property...it would be great to have artifacts we found in this book ). Hubby and I don't care so much about keeping any artifacts, even though we hope they will allow us to keep a few for our collection incase they decide they want it all....but it's more for the experience, to maybe be able to use them as a reference for future digs on property that holds so much history....so when we ask for permission again (which I hope is soon )...they will allow us to use them as a reference. Kinda' like setting up a portfolio of our digs , and getting a good rep

I won't say I wasn't nervous about my first time asking, but the worse part is sitting here waiting for either a YES or NO .

So, go out and ask....worse they can say is no, but I hope they say yes . And don't say anything stupid like I did, "Oh, can I go home and get my detector and start now?" (I wanted to kick myself in the butt for that one, but quickly said, "I'm sorry, I got abit ahead of myself."...he just laughed )

But I recommend you print out some kind of permission form, with the liability, as from my first experience.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting,
Annmarie
PS: Sorry, I am just so excited and jump everytime the phone rings. Just told my mother in law not to call me today LOL

 

[CaptJohn]

Yep, a permission form, with a liability wavier is a good idea to have ready. IF He sez NO, I will follow up and ask again, or send him a letter, something to read and think about. I might even lay it all out in the letter, LRL and all, stating that others have these and the next guy might NOT ASK for permission!! IF ITS there, I can find it, HE AND I need to recover it, NOW!

 

[Jeffro]

One other thing too.... Hope you're ready for this. If for whatever reason you can't get permission- be prepared to just walk away with no regrets. Put it on the back burner and keep an eye on the property for if it goes on sale or something. Pestering the guy too much will only make it harder for him to change his mind at some point in the future... and of course a late night stealth mission is highly frowned upon.

 

[CaptJohn]

Yes, the late nite trip is not for me, . But I know there are people who would do it. I have too much to risk.

 

[Jeffro]

I just found this a little bit ago- good first steps. http://www.tomstreasures.com/peter.html

 

[mxtswinger]

I vote NO on the permission paperwork. I haven't tried it, but a lot of people who have say it turns off more people than turns on. It might be okay for businesses, but not for individuals. However, it won't hurt to have one handy in case it is asked for.

Good luck

 

[CaptJohn]

OK, I'll have a Liability waiver in the Left pocket and a permission slip in my right pocket. And my appeal letter to leave with him, with my ph# (?) in my Rear pocket, to have him read after I leave if he says NO.

 

[Monk]

So you go to his door and make your plea. And then after hearing you out says, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! But if there is any treasure on my place that will just be something else for me to worry about. I'll look into it. And I don't want you or anyone else trespassing on my property or I will call the law.
MAN YOU JUST BLEW IT! And just gave it away. It will be over for you, He don't need you to carry on. Your out of the picture.
You must figure a way to recover this without the land owner or anyone else getting wise to it. Or just leave it alone till you can.

 

[Born2Dtect]

In my state the laws concerning found property are pretty clear. Lost property is considered owned by the finder and caches, hoards, jars, containers that were buried on purpose are owned by the owner of the land, period. I would think this is the norm for most states. This precludes any agreements which would be legal if signed by both parties. I would feel out the owner first but be prepared to bargain while not letting them know they have all the chips.

Ed D.

 

[Blind.In.Texas]

70/30!?!? without you knocking on his door you could wait until he was dead and do it any way. no way! 50/50 minimum. your leg work, your equipment, your knowledge, and, unless he birddogs you you adjust the split appropriately. also just build raport with him and see if he offers any info about himself and also asked if he has ever detected? i'll bet if he has he won't care what you are doing. if he hasn't he might be curious andthen you only dig up junk until he goes away. i am not dishonest, but , i am careful when it comes to dealing with others.

my advice is to just go talk to him and ask him for the permission. you could tell him you are hunting for artifacts from prior eras in that approximate location. old coins and anything old is considered such. if he knows about it and blieved it he may have already searched the life out of the place.

don't offer anything. just asked to dig for the stuff he probably wouldn't be interested in.

just me.