Advice on how to talk to landowner?

If you do this without his blessing. You have risks. Criminal trespassing and if you are lucky enough to dig holes, destruction of private property. If you get caught you run the risk of being shot on the spot. No questions asked.

If you ask for permission and use the notion of a split to entice him he may say no and do it himself since there is the notion of something valuable ( i think this is your concern is it not?). Don't mention a split. Just ask. You are relic hunting and show him relic-type documentation. There is no fear factor for $100,000 un less you just FEEL strongly about your research. If you are not 100% sure, then play by the rules. Maybe he will cut you in.

If you attempt to do it based upon greed for fear he will out greed you you may do something stupid like jump his fence.

If you ask his permission, get denied, and jump fence anyway. He will recongnize you because he has seen you and will blame YOU and can very likely go to jail and pay damages out your last paycheck.

No one can tell you the best route to take.

Here's somefriendly advice to help you in your decision making process:

When I play poker I decide with the hand I am dealt whether or not i can win the flop. Then I decide if my cards can win the turn. Then I decide if my hand can now win the river. And even at that I am not guaranteed to win the hand. Each step you take will determine if the next step is worth the whole endeavour based upon your judgement. Do you have good judgement?
 

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OK, gotta throw my 2 cents into the mix. Take em for what they're worth...just my opinons and therefore may not be worth much. ;D

I would just be very straight up with the guy. I'd tell him EVERYTHING and do so as plainly as possible. I'd not go into too much detail unless he asks questions. Then I'd tell what I knew. The odds of getting to hunt that land on your own at a later date (considering your age and his) doesn't seem too probable to me. Sorry, not trying to be mean or rude, just practical. I'd tell him about ALL the research I'd done, but not go into details about the info unless/until he asks you questions. The fact is, you're an experienced detectorist and you have an expensive piece of equipment. Those 2 points should work to your advantage. I wouldn't even mention a split of the loot unless/until he brings up the idea OR until/unless he starts looking like he's not interested. Then I'd start out low on his side of the deal...you can always increase his split once you start, but it's impossible to lower his split once you mention an amount. So I'd start out with 80/20 with 80 being your cut. Then I'd go for 75/25 if he balks. Then slowly move up from there until it's 50/50 if necessary. Less than half for yourself is just not reasonable nor fair if HE is any kind of a decent person.

Honestly, trying to remember what to say and what not to say and how to size him up and being nervous anyhow might be just too much to keep in mind when doing a face-to-face with the guy. Believe me, anybody who has someone knock on his door and ask permission is going to mention you to somebody. And from then on people will be speculating about your motives anyhow. So just be upfront, but explain in more detail only if he asks. Wouldn't you prefer that if you were in his position? The who-gets-what forms should be written by an attorney or a legal aide if he agrees to the split. Or at the very least get them notorized to cover your butt.

Man, I wish you well in this endeavor. I hope you will post your progess and pix of ANYTHING you find there. I will live my cache retrieval dreams vicariously through your posts. lol ;D ;D GOOD LUCK.
 

I'll admit I didn't read the other replys, so that I could go with purely my own reply. I print business cards and present them in person. A letter or phone call is much easier to turn down or ignore. Bring along some finds and if you have detected in the area, give him some addresses or names. Explain that you will leave the area in as good of condition or better than you found it. "If I find anything I think you may be interested in, I'll offer to share it with you". Enough said. I don't get written permission, no comment there.
 

Good luck on this Capt. I hope it goes your way. Ask or don't...Sh*t or get off the pot. How long will you let this worry you to death. It's tangible to you isn't it? You can almost feel it in your hand. Go to him. Lie about the amount. If he wants to tag along then dig falsies. Before you do you tell him it it a 33% chance it is on his property or two others. This may cause him to give up hanging out wo\ith you after just a short while and given his current age he may not even want to hang out much at all. You are close enough to his age he may just believe you. You sound like an honest man and I believe that you are. Dishonest men do as they please without the knowledge, consent, or input from others because no one else wants it his way. I think you are concerned for this man and his well being too or you wouldn't offer him such a high split for nothing more than owning the land. And you wouldn't be before this forum asking what you should do.

If you feel you need to be honest. Do it at the end. In the beginning is not the time for large numbers. Just find the cache and then split it with him just enough to get you out of dodge. Then you can always send him the rest of what you REALLY owe him according to the agreement. From the safety of wherever you are. This prevents him from man-handling you upon finding the cache. You only need to a be a little dishonest for a little while and then later you can finally to the right thing. So what if you lie about the amount. The percentage would remain the same and therefor in HIS favor.

IF this sounds like a stupid idea, sorry, but, you gotta get diggin and soon, winter will soon be across much of the country. Ad like you said it needs to be done before someone else does it. I don't think you wanna get assed out of this.
 

Just ask for permission to search the property, if he says no, give him a business card
and tell him that if changes his mind to call you.

You are interested in old relics and you would be willing to share your finds with him.

Good Luck

And if you find something, give him his share.
 

A Long time when I tried dowsing, whenever someone asked me what I was doing,
I would say: "I am looking for water" , that was enough to be let alone alone by bothersome people.... :o
 

Nice job cap...one step at a time. i see you are very serious about this. i think you will do well, but, how did you go from 'just to looking around' to 'cutting him in'? if you go looking because you want to buy, okay. if he doesn't fall into the plan the way you would like and you suddenly shift gears on him to totally different subject like a 'cut' and 'percentages' he will think you were trying to screw him and that you will continue to try to screw him an despecially because he wa the last to know. Just my view, cos'.

WE ARE HERE FOR YOU BRO.
 

Capt John....hope it pans out for you that you are able to detect that land you are talking about. Like I posted earlier, we asked for the first time and recieved our first TURN DOWN :(....we did not get a call back as promised, so we went back to the store and were told that the owner said no. I gracefully shook the man's hand and said Thank You. I was upset, but did not let it be known until I got back in the van...oh well, better luck next time.

For those in the Va Beach area....if you know where Willis Wayside is...they took down all those pine trees and are putting up a bldg (for a cafe/resturant type establishment...bldg rental). The history with that land, the main bldg was built in 1937 for a TB Hospital, then became a military hdqtrs during WWII and German POW's were held there, many of whom became Va Beach residents after the war. The place at the time of the war, was called Camp Ashby. There are only 2 POW barracks still standing today, which are private homes now. I know on those two properties, owners have found german uniform buttons and such, but that was some years back. (Can't remember everything that was found). There is also a local woman who has written many books. I need to let her know the detecting fell through. She is writing a book on Camp Ashby and I thought it would have been neat to have her display any artifacts we may have found in her upcoming book. :(...oh well, what's that old saying "No sense crying over spilt milk"....there's another prime land we are going this week to check into.....keeping fingers crossed. And NEXT TIME we ask for permission (lesson learned here)....NO INBETWEEN PERSON....GO STRAIGHT TO THE MAN (or WOMAN) who owns it!!!!

Good Luck to you Cap't John.....hope it works out well. I learned a few things about asking for my first time, that I won't do next time.....

HH........Annmarie
 

Ron and ANN, I sent you a PM, check into it.

OKAY I HAVE Some favorable News. One landowner, I think its a fellow I went to school with.
 

Does this man or wife show any signs of having found
this money? His life style house or ect?

I would not fess up anything about it...you know and you feel
that he might know.. but does he ???? Just go and ask and tell him
what you will be using because it is what you like ...laugh .. just me
kind of thing. I may be a liitle odd thing.............

This way he knows what you will be doing...he may not even care
so if he says yes he might care less what you use.

If he says yes he no doubt will not even bother you..some people
are not interested in any way.

If he says yes...he has no idea......so just ask him...if he says no then you can work in another direction.

I am betting he says yes. Just ask him tell him this is your hobby
and the doctor said it is good for your health being outdoors. Ask
him about being outdoors and if he would like to join you...
I bet he says yes to you and no to joining you.


Works every time for me.

CWE
 

Here's a few of my thoughts. If he owns a good but of wooded land maybe you could approach him about hunting on his land if you paid him $XXX but you would like to have a look around on his land first.

This one is kinda out there but you could tell him this fall that you would like to pay him to walk around on his property and find a nice cedar tree for christmas. If he asks you why dont you buy one from a tree farm tell him you and your dad use to go out and cut one down every year and you'd like to share the tradition with your son.

You could alawys do the stealth night mission and rent some night goggles. If the land is out of sight from people then it owuldn't be very risky, but it would be unethical. Either way it's risk vs reward in that situation.

Just so we know, how much $ are we talking about in these caches? I mean if it is huge then I would definitely buy the land as soon as you could, land is a great investment and witha cache it is a hell of an investment ;D

Lastly is what I would do. I would just tell him the area is full of history and you'd like to take your metal detector and poke around in the woods. Assure him you wont make any unsightly holes and see what he says. If he rejects you, wait a while then go back and say you did some research and you might be able to find something of value and would share it with him is he let you on the property. If he tries to drag it out of you just play stupid. If you are patient enough, the time will arise.

Good luck and keep us posted!
 

Capt John , CptBil , HERE!
First thing, I'd do, IS! to
"RESEARCH the PERSON!" ;D

Know something of/about his personality, character etc ...
"Know Thy Friend/enemy"
Or !
In this case, Thy "Land owner" !
I would NEVER! try to approach a stranger, w/o first doing so!
 

I have permission to be in there!
Comming back to my truck yesterday I noticed someone on foot , standing in the woods on the other side of the road, from where my truck was parked, I guess he watching me or my truck, waiting to see who returns to it. I tried to pay him no attention. I need to start taking one of my friends with me. The surrounding area also has been know for LoCo weed patchs being grown, so I surely have to be more careful and NEVER dig if you are alone. You may be watched by some thug type dope head, orsomeone elsr that knows the treasure tale, waiting for you to bring it up outa the ground, or by a Drug Enforcement Agent!!!.
 

CaptJohn! You lucked out and found a way to one of the propertys. Great! But you found a man watching you and you ignored him! I think that was a bad move. I think I would have threw up my hand to him and tryed to go over and introduce myself. Then tell him what you will and set his mind at rest as to who you are and have permission to be there. Who knows, you might want to before it's over to check out his land. My 2 cents.
 

Yeah, I will probably get the chance to acknowlege him again, I'm sure he will be watching me.
 

SWR said:
CaptJohn said:
Thanks guys!! No offinse taken, let her ripl.... You don't think I've thought about the eyes poping out when I pull out the L-rods. Hahha... I'm think of making anothrt Black box to mast my LRL transmittor. I have another dowser that It work for in my family. I can poke around with a MD, or oner of us can slip off and wip out the L-rods, they will fit down my pants, and cover the handel by my shirt....
Click to expand...

“Couldn’t get permission to dig” appears to be on the Top 10 list of why LRL users fail.
Click to expand...

Any honest and competent treasure hunter will find that he learns about way more caches than he can get permission to search for legally. Since that same problem afflicts honest dowsers why is that something to slam? Do you search for treasure or do you just go to places where you have access and look? If you do that you are limiting your results. exanimo, ss
 

I came across an interesting idea of gaining permission, by treasure diver i think it was, that at times could be considered:
"Offer or let the property owner use one of my turn on & go detectors & they keep what they find & I keep what I find"
ITS NOT SAFE to be out there by myself, even just looking around on the property, a doper lurking around or a pot grower could care less what I have permision to do.
Do any of you have permits to carry firearms, and do you carry them when MD'ing?
 

CaptJohn:
Out west, and I believe, in some Eastern States, there is NO Permit needed to carry a firearm/weapon.
As Far As I can remember, ;) ALL! of the western states, and this includes CA., these States, are what is called
"Open Carry" :D
This means, that as long as your weapon is in plain sight, you can legally, carry what ever you what!
In Town(s) OR! OUT!
I, normally "carry" a 5 shot, stub nose .44 mag! (Super Lt Wt., 19 oz)
 

Wait until the hours of darkness, then...............do what you gotta do!
 

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In regards to the split

you already had plenty of ideas on approaching the owner....dont laugh, but you may want to practice it in front of a mirror...or someone else. As for the splitting....my approach without knowing the details would be to make a business proposal in vague terms and go from there....i know you want to be fair but start at 70/30 and go to possibly 50/50 if need be. I know someone who MD a basement of a business. He got the ok to do so and offereed the owner any of the found items of his (owner) choosing....when it came time to do so, the owner had a change of heart and wanted it ALL since it was his property.....

its funny how money make people greedy that way...
 

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