Vacant Lot Hunting

[Jason in ID]

The other day I was detecting a yard and the owner told me that there used to be an old house in the vacant lot across the street. I think it would be a great place to hunt. I always get permission when I'm not hunting parks but what about vacant lots? Do I need permission to hunt them or does it depend on the lot? If you think permission is needed, what's the best way to find out who owns it and how should I approach them? Thanks for your opinions.

 

[BarberDan]

Someone surely owns the lot. Your county probably has a GIS Data Survey site which should give you the owners contact information along with all other types of info. Google GIS Data for your county and you should get a hit.

 

[tnvarmint]

Dan hit it on the nail. Here is TN we have a site run by the state where you can look at sat maps and it shows exactly who owns each piece of land. Dr Bill and myself use this site quite a bit to find the owners and then contact them for permission. Occasionally the city, county or state will own it which means it is fair game as long as there are no laws prohibiting metal detecting.

Try doing a google search for YOURSTATE property data survey or something similar.

 

[Jason in ID]

Thanks for the info. I looked up the GIS map for my area and that lot belongs to an office of several holding companies. I googled them and can't find any information other than an address, which happens to be a bakery/pastry shop. Any suggestions of what to do next?

When using the GIS info, have you found that it works better to call the owner or go visit them?

 

[BarberDan]

I visit when practical, people generally have a harder time saying no when you are face to face. If it isn't possible to visit, I generally just call.

 

[Agseeker]

The county that I live in the County Assessor has a website where you can research property ownership for free. Helps if you know the exact address of the property which is tough sometimes on vacant lots.