You methods or tips..

[A. Fitzpatrick]

Hey all! Im curious if any of you have any advice as to how you are getting permissions.. I’m a pretty friendly guy and my approach is good, but I’ve heard ‘No’ quite a bit lately or just coming up with dead ends. Lots and lots of online searching for old homes in the area, but that’s difficult also as there isn’t just a ‘list’ of old houses. The historic aerials site led me to a huge field where a couple old homes were taken down in the 70’s.. and that farmer actually gave me permission which is great and that’s my go-to right now.. but obviously the more i ‘throw against the wall’ the more will stick. Just trying to make use of down time so when I can go hunt, I actually have more than one place to go. So far my best site has been 600 miles away back home. My moms house built in 1860 produced a 1890 Morgan SIlver dollar. I’ve only been MDing since November and have many tactics yet to learn.. figures I’d as the pros!
Thanks!

-A

 

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[Terry Soloman]

Be clean, dress casually, don't be too wordy. LISTEN to the homeowner, try and determine what is important / interesting to THEM about the property. Leave them a Card with your contact info on it! - Smile!

Good Luck!

 

[WaterScoop]

Never walk up with your gear in hand.
Don’t dress like a salesman
Don’t take the first NO
Tell them you collect old coins and relics most of them valued between $1-5 each and yiu would be happy to show them what you find
Here is an example of the idea

Here is a super small one for ease of carry
And it’s cheap as well



Tell them you carry out all trash and they won’t even know you were there.

Most important tip is leave the gear in the car and give them a couple card, if they say
No then thy can pass your cards to other friends who might.

Cheers

 

[A. Fitzpatrick]

Thanks for the advice! Any tips on finding the older houses? I drive around a lot, look for older type houses, (I know what to look for) but it’s tricky in my city, gotta get to the outskirts... anything online y’all use?
Thanks again!

-A

 

[TxAg]

Congrats on the 1890 Morgan, one of those is on my list to find. Being a newbie as well, I am interested to read tips from the pros on getting permission. I like the card idea and will get some printed up soon. Also like the relic holder to show the homeowner what types of inexpensive finds might be out there.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Become involved as a docent and member of historical societies and museums. They are always begging for volunteer help. Docent work can be something like 6 hrs. per month, where all you do is man a desk, etc....

Once you've got those credentials, and the cool name ID badge it affords you, you will find that to "open a lot of doors". Eg.: "Hi, I work for the such & such museum. I'm doing a research project on the such & such stage stop (resort, cellar hole, ghost town .... or ... fill-in-the-blank) that is said to be on the back 40 of the property here. Do you mind if I take some pictures ?" And then .... slowly morph into md'ing permission. Like ... regale them with some examples of "what you found right down the road " blah blah

 

[Tpmetal]

do you have a kid? I used to bring my daughter with me, it is really hard to say no when you have a cute little kid staring you in the eyes...... I know, kinda deplorable but works like a charm. If you don't have a kid,I find that talking about the property or town history really brings people in and gets them interested. you would be surprised on how many people have no idea of their home town history. I don't even mention metal detecting until we have a nice conversation going.

 

[BLK HOLE]

I use the Zillows app when driving around and plug in the year of home I am searching for, I have found some older homes hiding in "New" neighborhoods. HH

 

[Normsel]

I tell them they can have what I find because I do it as a hobby and more interested in the hunt and any coins or relics I find on their property is their's if they want it. Most often they tell me to keep what I find but they would like to see it.

 

[dognose]

Once I get permission, I often will ask for the phone number so I can call in advance. I also talk with the property owners casually, about family, and pets. Don't hurry to get away from them.

Occasionally I will slip into the conversation questions about other locations they may know about which I can search.

When I get a "no", I am always polite and say thanks, and do not trespass. But I follow up every few years, after a few years sometimes those "no's" become "yes".

 

[lookingharder]

I print up a release of liability form that I offer to sign and give to them. My yes answer's improved drastically. So many people are afraid of being sues and by taking that out of the equation I found people are more likely to let you search their land. Also do your research on the area and explain to the land owner "why" you are interested in their land. I have had land owners open up and tell me lots of history and other places to look on their property. The most important thing I do is stop back by on your way out and show the owner some ( yes, I said some) what you found. There interest peaks and you are much more likely to have an open invite the next time you want to come back. I showed a old farmer a couple old traps that I found, they were his grandfathers, His grandfather used to trap when he was a kid to try and make extra money. They didn't mean anything to me but when I offered to give then to the farmer, I made a new friend and hunted his farm several more times. Just a few things I do.

 

[against the wind]

Lots of good advice,,
Definitely join the historical society. Not only is it a way of giving back, but it will give you some information about the properties before you visit.
It can't hurt to make the owner(s), aware of the Ghost that is said to haunt their house.

 

[beep1971]

I got a NO from a local estate via email, they thought that i was a paranormal investigator because i had a detecting device!
I sent a return email explaining, but no reply lol

 

[smokeythecat]

Do NOT wear anything camo. Virginia is one of those place lots of people ask to detect so it's harder there than in a lot of other places due to the Civil War activity there. The points listed above are good. Look harmless. Smile a lot.

 

[A. Fitzpatrick]

All really great advice, I will be sure to apply these ideas and hopefully I’ll get more ‘yes’ answers. Unfortunately I don’t have a kid to bring with me haha! Thanks everyone!

 

[smokeythecat]

And make the true promise, if a miracle were to happen and you find a true treasure, define that treasure as 5 of more gold coins together, you will share it with them 50/50. I always do that. Most times they just smilingly laugh at me. Nobody thinks there is gold on their property. Of course, I've never found a gold cache either.

 

[fuzzy535]

i picked up two properties today just talking to one of the guys at work about my hobbie. i find out his house was built in the 1920's and jokingly told him he should let me detect it. he said come on down then he told me about his dads house which is even older. so just in casual conversation it panned out. now i just need warmer weather...

 

[LawrencetheMDer]

Thanks for the advice! Any tips on finding the older houses? I drive around a lot, look for older type houses, (I know what to look for) but it’s tricky in my city, gotta get to the outskirts... anything online y’all use?
Thanks again!

-A

Although I use it to survey beaches, you can use Google satellite maps of areas to look for remnants of ancient structures and even old roads.