Vacant lots Fair Game??

[Ragnar]

I have noticed a lot of vacant lots within the city limits of my town. There are no signs or barriers on the lots. Any opinions or experiences with detecting in places like these

 

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[against the wind]

Yep,, always get permission

 

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[darktower007]

It’s fairly easy to find who owns the property. Some ways are: landglide app, xhunt (I think app)
Also every county has an online or place where deeds are found. If an individual owns it, gotta get permission. If it says say.. “Cook County” or your county that owns it... your in!

Now I have used this to detect a big field I thought was owned by someone... nope county property. Sweet!

 

[A2coins]

I agree talk to local pd . or find the owner

 

[A2coins]

Also welcome to tnet that's what this site is for.Thanks for asking Tommy

 

[GA_Boy]

If the property is not yours and you didn't get permission you should NOT detect there.
Marvin

 

[Swaveab]

I agree that one should get permission to detect from an owner, but properties that are obviously abandoned and are even behind in taxes I will search. The owners do not care about the property and cops probably wouldn't know if you owned it or not and without signs or an owner's complaint they have nothing to charge me with.

 

[Truth]

I’ll take a chance on a abandoned house but not often and if I️ do I️ normally just made it 30 mins. The guilt of doing it made I️ next t fun unfortunately in my case. I️ hate having guilt.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Wow, the thread that would-not-die .

I think the divergent views are simply based on the MENTAL IMAGE of the "vacant lot" in question. Those that say "just go", are probably thinking of a blighted vacant lot, where everyone and their brother cuts the corner on the short-cut trail sort-of-thing . And no one in a million years cares.

..... but properties that are obviously abandoned and are even behind in taxes I will search. The owners do not care about ....

But those saying "indeed not" are having an image of something else, like where ... yes .... someone is poised to say "what the heck are you doing ? Scram !"

If the latter is the mental image, then yes, I agree with that point of view. Ie.: By all means: Don't do it. But if the former is the mental image, then I venture to say there's not a one of us that doesn't take that short-cut path.

Also a factor in the his pro/con view is : "What is your image/definition of md'ing" in the first place ? If it is that md'ing is innocuous, benign, and harmless: Then you're inclined to think one way. If you think of md'ing as harmful, dangerous, damaging, etc... then you're inclined to think another way.

So it all boils down to one's starting premises.

 

[darktower007]

I’ll take a chance on a abandoned house but not often and if I️ do I️ normally just made it 30 mins. The guilt of doing it made I️ next t fun unfortunately in my case. I️ hate having guilt.

I’ve hunted one abandoned home real deep in the woods near my old deer lease. Looks like it was 120 plus years old. I believe it was on the lease or right next to it.. judgement call I guess. Didn’t find much, sheet metal and trash but pretty cool to hunt old forgotten places. I felt a little guilty but again I wasn’t on a main road at an old home place l.. it was copperhead country in the middle of nowhere.

 

[Swaveab]

I’ve hunted one abandoned home real deep in the woods near my old deer lease. Looks like it was 120 plus years old. I believe it was on the lease or right next to it.. judgement call I guess. Didn’t find much, sheet metal and trash but pretty cool to hunt old forgotten places. I felt a little guilty but again I wasn’t on a main road at an old home place l.. it was copperhead country in the middle of nowhere.

I do trust you asked those copperheads for permission?

 

[pepperj]

I have read the comments and it comes down to the simple fact of "Do you own it?" if you don't then somebody else does-simple isn't it.
Is it public property? If no it's private-simple isn't it.
If it's private- get permission-simple isn't it.

Anything about going on a property that is privately owned without permission is simply trespassing.
No matter if the owner is living next door or on the other side of the world it is trespassing.

Going on the said lot/land/abandoned home site without permission at anytime of the 24hr clock without consent of the owner or caretaker is trespassing.

Folks that make up grey areas about what is allowed and what isn't are just detecting without permission and that isn't what we do as a whole-remember it's about ethics.

In England as in someplaces in NA there are walking paths on maps. The paths in England are for walking across lands and are basically for that purpose and are tended/not planted by the landowner if they cross the fields. Here in Canada on some survey maps there are dotted lines across private property(marked trail) that the public could use for crossing. It doesn't give the person the right to start digging and retrieving items out of the ground. So the interpretation of a path going through a lot doesn't give the right for one to go detecting there.

I start to wonder about postings of finds and if a "true permission" was ever obtained in the first place, or was it a grey area. I shake my head at the ones that state well it wasn't posted so I detect it, or well a X amount of minutes trespassing is ok to detect. Seriously folks what part of trespassing or obtaining permission don't you understand? Reading these self made interpretations of what is allowed and what isn't, doesn't work here.

Its simple, you go on to property that no permission has been obtained, it's trespassing, giving this hobby a bad name, putting another black eye towards it, and you'll be the first ones *****ing and complaining when the laws make it illegal in your area/town/city/state. When that happens sit back look in the mirror and thank yourself for the efforts of making it happen.

Go do what you do when you do and your caught I hope you get a charge out of it. In England it's illegal to do"night hawking" your equipment will be taken, and all your collections as well, and you be charged. Is it deserving? Yes it is.

I know of people that have had the finger pointed at them for detecting in areas where it might be not allowed, and yes they have had to prove that their collections of finds were legit and taken from sites that detecting was allowed. Scary to think that one could loose a lifetime of collections for digging something up from a spot that wasn't allowed.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

I ...
Is it public property? If no it's private-simple isn't it.
If it's private- get permission-simple isn't it.....

I totally understand what you are saying pepperj. So you would get permission for this, right ? :

 

[kenstein]

I'm not condoning trespassing, but while reading all these comments it occurred to me that this nation was built by trespassers.

 

[pepperj]

I totally understand what you are saying pepperj. So you would get permission for this, right ? :

I can't tell you if you have a picture of a city park, historical site, somebody's front yard, side of a parking lot.
So looking at the picture and committing to an answer would be assuming and I don't think I have to tell you what I think about trespassing.

 

[pepperj]

I'm not condoning trespassing, but while reading all these comments it occurred to me that this nation was built by trespassers.

In some parts of this world taking something that isn't you're usually means cutting off the hand. Back in the days a horse thief got the rope. Today many not having it themselves feel or go about with this called "entitlement " where they can do what ever pleases themselves on somebody else's land. If you want it, buy it/own it then or ask permission to use it. I have a great many permissions and I respect every part of the permission. Metal detecting and retrieving a target doesn't give me the right to dig out an ash out on the permission. That would have to be cleared with the landowner first.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

I can't tell you if you have a picture of a city park, historical site, somebody's front yard, side of a parking lot. .....

Good answer. Yes: The picture doesn't tell you if that's the edge of a park, or someone's lawn, etc....

Let's just say, for the moment, that you simply don't know. It might be city easement. It might be the corner of someone's lawn, etc.... You simply don't know. I'll bet you dollars to donuts that you simply take the path . And don't do the long-way around the sidewalk. Right ?

Ie.: you're probably not going to go to the assessor's office and hire a surveyor to map it out. Right ? Because it's intuitively a non-issue. Based on the repeated traffic of the picture. Right ? In fact, you probably don't even give it a moment's thought.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

In some parts of this world taking something that isn't you're usually means cutting off the hand. ....

Also a great answer. "stepping off the sidewalk" versus "metal detecting" (which involves "taking" something) are two different beasts. Right ? I totally get what you are saying.

Yes: It's true, while md'ing can be done in a non-intrusive way (leaving no trace), yet .... it's true, we "take" and "remove" things. Each of which we can find laws that prohibit, and are worse than merely "walking" there.

Then are you aware that "take" and "remove" laws are equally in PUBLIC land laws/codes/ordinances too ? For example: Take a look at any park or beach you go to. Find the rules of use. And I'll bet you dollars to donuts that you'll find prohibitions on "remove" , "take" , "harvest", etc... Such that no one helps himself to the the park benches, or starts harvesting sod or sand for commercial sale, etc.... Could the rule/law be applied to an individual coin ? YES INDEED.

Not saying that your observation isn't utterly correct. Just saying: If we start down that path of defining md'ing as "take" "steal", etc.... : You would equally loose all public ground too.


But again: This all goes back to one's definition of "vacant" or "abandoned" , etc.... I can think of vacant lots in my town , where a bldg. burned down or was demolished in the 1950s. And has sat vacant ever since (neighborhood too blighted for any economic re-built or development). And so, they sit, with shopping carts strewn about them. A short-cut trail across them. And: If you looked up on the assessor's office parcel maps: Owned by someone 100+ miles away (the descendants of the original owners, who have long since moved away from the blight).

 

[pepperj]

G I'll bet you dollars to donuts that you simply take the path . And don't do the long-way around the sidewalk. Right ? .

To walk the path and detecting the space is two different issues here Tom. Like I stated before there is walking paths that run through properties is one thing, but it doesn't entitle one to detect it, that would make a person a transgressor.

 

[pepperj]

Also a great answer. "stepping off the sidewalk" versus "metal detecting" (which involves "taking" something) are two different beasts. Right ? I totally get what you are saying.

But again: This all goes back to one's definition of "vacant" or "abandoned" , etc.... I can think of vacant lots in my town , where a bldg. burned down or was demolished in the 1950s. And has sat vacant ever since (neighborhood too blighted for any economic re-built or development). And so, they sit, with shopping carts strewn about them. A short-cut trail across them. And: If you looked up on the assessor's office parcel maps: Owned by someone 100+ miles away (the descendants of the original owners, who have long since moved away from the blight).

I have found out that a permission lived in the USA, and it would take some doing to contact them-so I didn't.
Another person lives in Europe, same thing goes I didn't seek out the permission-nor did I go on the properties.

Just because a person lives someplace else-and neglects the property doesn't give me one iota of permission to trespass for the sake of detecting it.

Some take advantage of this and use the lands as if was public property. They use lands for hunting, biking, snowmobiling, hiking and when time comes to undo the entitlement that others have on properties it becomes a mess.

If a person pays the taxes on a property then they are the owners more than likely, and it is them that allow or disallow. Anything else is trespassing simple as that. Doesn't matter if its postage stamp of a city lot that's run down, or a 5000 acre estate containing many parcels of land and homes.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

... there is walking paths that run through properties is one thing, but it doesn't entitle one to detect it, that would make a person a transgressor.

Well, to simply walk through it would also be "transgress". Yes I agree that to "walk" and to "detect" are two different things. But don't think for a moment that they are not both trespassing

Walk = innocuous. Why is detecting not innocuous ? You would say "because we "take" things. I agree. Ok, then : As said above: Do not hunt public land either, where it is equally forbidden. Yet the reality, we both know, is that no one cares one iota if you/I "take" (remove, steal, harvest, etc...) the penny or quarter from the beach. Right ?