Seeking Permission Approach

Luv2SwingIt

Junior Member
Joined
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31
Location
Augusta, Georgia
I would like to start a discussion about seeking permission. More specifically, permission to hunt around someone's house/property. I've been in the hobby now for quite a few years and for some reason, I just can't seem to muster the courage to "cold call" on folks to ask permission. Yes, I know, the worst that they can say is "no" but there's a level of uncomfortable there that I can't seem to shake. I know that once a few permissions are granted, then courage to knock on a new door gets easier. So, I'd like to ask everyone what their approach is. Do you offer to relinquish/share your finds with the owner? Thanks for the input or advice! HH to all!
 
Relax, keep it simple...dont offer nothing, dont over think it...plenty of great advice and tips on this subject....Its good experience talking to strangers, asking permission, ..so go get you some and learn from the 'No's'...Some places aint worth a Yes anyway...

Back when I grew up, at very early ages, we were banging on doors and asking all the time: "Do you want your grass mowed?" "Driveway shoveled?" "Leaves raked?" "Subscribe to the newspaper?" So it sort of comes natural to a lot of us and its no big deal....You might start by asking around in your circle of influence, Church, Work...people that know you...

Best way to learn is: in field practice and application...Just go out and do it...
 
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Start out one day with a goal of five places you want to ask. Then do it. Maybe one of them will say yes.
 
try to catch them on their front porch. Eg.: when they're out mowing their yard, or when a garage sale is going on there, or when they're arriving home from work , etc... Because if you KNOCK, then that's subconsciously invading their private space & time.

Tell them you're their neighbor from a few blocks away. Have some stuff in your apron that you "found just down the street at the such & such house on the corner", to show them.
 
One of the best Cold Callers and Door Knockers we have here is our Brother Beephead down working Memphis Silver/gold in private yards...read a lot of his posts for some ideas on how to behave and take advantage of fortuitous situations....
 
One of the best Cold Callers and Door Knockers we have here is our Brother Beephead down working Memphis Silver/gold in private yards...read a lot of his posts for some ideas on how to behave and take advantage of fortuitous situations....

Mud-puppy, when I saw you'd chimed into this post, I thought you'd entertain us with a great read on how to do it. Eg.: 1) knock on the door. 2) when they open the door you slap them. 3) Announce that you're going to metal detect their yard. 4) Tell them "since I'll be sticking around for awhile, can you bring me some iced tea". 5) ask to borrow their shovel.

Eh ? You're slipping puppy-mud !
 
Great advice from everyone. Funny thing is....I'm very well known for being able to "start a conversation with a rock"! That's what my wife says anyway. I'm not shy or introverted by any means. So, a comment to Mud Puppy...I too grew up in a time when knocking on doors to solicit or offer to cut grass etc, was normal. IMO, it's not that way anymore. Especially when you're asking for permission to "dig in their yard". SO, like Tom in CA says, I guess I feel that knocking on that door begins the "invasion of privacy/quiet time" moment and with that comes instant irritation from the owner. At lease this is my perception. I will conquer this fear because my passion for the hobby compels me to! Again, great tips and advice from everyone. Thank you!
 
How about getting on facebook. Ask if anyone has or knows of any old properties you can detect?
 
I would like to start a discussion about seeking permission. More specifically, permission to hunt around someone's house/property. I've been in the hobby now for quite a few years and for some reason, I just can't seem to muster the courage to "cold call" on folks to ask permission. Yes, I know, the worst that they can say is "no" but there's a level of uncomfortable there that I can't seem to shake. I know that once a few permissions are granted, then courage to knock on a new door gets easier. So, I'd like to ask everyone what their approach is. Do you offer to relinquish/share your finds with the owner? Thanks for the input or advice! HH to all!

Hi Luv2SwingIt...
Several threads on the Forum about "Getting Permission". Check them out.
Here's a thread with a video I posted a while ago that might be useful for anyone looking to increase their chances of positive responses from those you are seeking permission from.

http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=253424

Jim
 
Just go out and try it, the first house is always the hardest, but after you get through the first ask the rest will be a lot easier.
 
When asking permission I've often heard the landowner comment that if you find anything really valuable we'll have to split it. Sometimes they're joking but most of the time they mean it.

I try to put myself in their position and ask myself what I would do? Would I be OK with someone digging my property up and carting off something worth a lot of money? probably not.

So, I tell them before they ask that if I find anything of obvious high value or perhaps has family heirloom potential they'll be the first to know.

Last October after doing a lot of research I identified a property within 10 min of my house that had a number of 1800's home sites on it that are now long gone of course. I asked for and received permission under the conditions described above.

On my second trip to the site I found my first Gold coin in 20+ years of metal detecting, A Quarter Eagle which is now my Avatar on this site. The first person I called was my wife and the second was the landowner.

I met him at his house and showed him the Quarter Eagle. He was surprised and pleased at the same time. I reminded him of our agreement and asked what he would like to do? He told me well, you found it what would you want to do?

I said I would like to keep it and that I would have it appraised and pay him half of the appraised value of the coin. He said that would be fair so I now own the coin of course.

But what is the most valuable to me is that the Landowner owns 275 acres smack in the middle of an 1838 town that has come and gone. I now have unlimited access to the entire property any time I want to hunt, a gate key, and a little sign he gave me to hang on the gate when I'm there so that he knows I'm somewhere on 275 acres.

He told neighbors the story and 3 other Landowners have given me like permissions to their properties. I now have a little over 950 acres to hunt within 10 minutes of my house.

2 of the landowners are in their 80's and are walking history books, they know where all the old home sites were at and something about who lived there back then.

So, I fix myself a lunch a few days a week, load up and go enjoy the day. and yes I've found some very cool stuff.

I'm not saying this is the way everyone should go about it but it works for me.
 
I would like to start a discussion about seeking permission. More specifically, permission to hunt around someone's house/property. I've been in the hobby now for quite a few years and for some reason, I just can't seem to muster the courage to "cold call" on folks to ask permission. Yes, I know, the worst that they can say is "no" but there's a level of uncomfortable there that I can't seem to shake. I know that once a few permissions are granted, then courage to knock on a new door gets easier. So, I'd like to ask everyone what their approach is. Do you offer to relinquish/share your finds with the owner? Thanks for the input or advice! HH to all!

I think this is a good idea, i feel the same even after i am invited to go for it. Abandon houses, should i or shouldn't i:?:
 
Mud-puppy, when I saw you'd chimed into this post, I thought you'd entertain us with a great read on how to do it. Eg.: 1) knock on the door. 2) when they open the door you slap them. 3) Announce that you're going to metal detect their yard. 4) Tell them "since I'll be sticking around for awhile, can you bring me some iced tea". 5) ask to borrow their shovel.

Eh ? You're slipping puppy-mud !

:goodpost:
 
Relax, keep it simple...dont offer nothing, dont over think it...plenty of great advice and tips on this subject....Its good experience talking to strangers, asking permission, ..so go get you some and learn from the 'No's'...Some places aint worth a Yes anyway...

Back when I grew up, at very early ages, we were banging on doors and asking all the time: "Do you want your grass mowed?" "Driveway shoveled?" "Leaves raked?" "Subscribe to the newspaper?" So it sort of comes natural to a lot of us and its no big deal....You might start by asking around in your circle of influence, Church, Work...people that know you...

Best way to learn is: in field practice and application...Just go out and do it...

Start out one day with a goal of five places you want to ask. Then do it. Maybe one of them will say yes.

Hi Luv2SwingIt...
Several threads on the Forum about "Getting Permission". Check them out.
Here's a thread with a video I posted a while ago that might be useful for anyone looking to increase their chances of positive responses from those you are seeking permission from.

http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=253424

Jim

Thanks Jim. I will be watching this video to pick up some tips!
 
Reply

I think this is a good idea, i feel the same even after i am invited to go for it. Abandon houses, should i or shouldn't i:?:

Thanks for the feedback! I personally do NOT give in to the temptation of checking out an abandoned house. The truth is......it is owned, albeit by the bank or courts or neglectful owner. It just isn't worth it to have the police called when a busy body decides that they don't want you on the abandoned property. One other thing I'll point out that I've run in to is seeking permission by calling or writing the home/property owner. For me, there's been virtually NO success in receiving a response when I call or send a professionally written letter asking for permission. So, it seems that I just need to continue to work on my face to face approach.
 
I encourage you build your skills and perfect your permission skills, by asking to detect the abandoned houses and former house sites, that are farmland.

Many are in the woods, pastures and or fields, as long your not hunting a field between planting and harvesting, they know your not hurting anything. There simply is no yard to mess up. Most farmers are great, people, but they get hit by salesmen a lot,. So be sure to offer up a big smile and "I'm not here to sell you any thing" and chuckle. I've never been told no on rural permissions like I mentioned.

Once you build your confidence there, you can go to town, literally, and more than likely feel comfortable asking a homeowner for permission to hunt their yards.
 
My wife has become my agent of sorts. She is pretty good getting on the level with people. We mainly try to get a phone number and do it the old fashioned way (phone call). We have yet to do a "cold call" though.

I have found that asking through FaceBook sucks and you most of the time do not hear back (which is understandable).
 
Here's something to consider:

Have you ever heard of the show King of the Hill? It's a cartoon by Mike Judge about a young boy named Bobby growing up in Texas. Bobby's dad has a group of friends and neighbors that do a lot of guy stuff together. One of his dads friends is named Boomhauer, a skinny beer drinkin' dude that when he talks, he mumbles incoherently where you can never really understand what he is saying. The thing about Boomhauer, is he ALWAYS has a pretty lady on his arm.

In one episode, in a quest to find true love, young Bobby approaches Boomhauer to get advise from the master pickup artist himself. Here is that clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7FVmeJXwCY

You're not looking for love, you're just looking to get started on how to talk to folks to get permission to detect on their land. So my advise to any person that has no experience with this sort of "Sales" as it were, is try the Boomhauer approach. Do your research, pile a list of 20 contacts, and just sit down one Saturday afternoon and call them all. By the 20th one, your odds of getting a permission will be really good. Save the best for last, and learn with each one. By the time you make that 20th call, you'll at least be good enough to confidently do another 20.

Good luck.
 
When asking permission I've often heard the landowner comment that if you find anything really valuable we'll have to split it. Sometimes they're joking but most of the time they mean it.

I try to put myself in their position and ask myself what I would do? Would I be OK with someone digging my property up and carting off something worth a lot of money? probably not.

So, I tell them before they ask that if I find anything of obvious high value or perhaps has family heirloom potential they'll be the first to know.

Last October after doing a lot of research I identified a property within 10 min of my house that had a number of 1800's home sites on it that are now long gone of course. I asked for and received permission under the conditions described above.

On my second trip to the site I found my first Gold coin in 20+ years of metal detecting, A Quarter Eagle which is now my Avatar on this site. The first person I called was my wife and the second was the landowner.

I met him at his house and showed him the Quarter Eagle. He was surprised and pleased at the same time. I reminded him of our agreement and asked what he would like to do? He told me well, you found it what would you want to do?

I said I would like to keep it and that I would have it appraised and pay him half of the appraised value of the coin. He said that would be fair so I now own the coin of course.

But what is the most valuable to me is that the Landowner owns 275 acres smack in the middle of an 1838 town that has come and gone. I now have unlimited access to the entire property any time I want to hunt, a gate key, and a little sign he gave me to hang on the gate when I'm there so that he knows I'm somewhere on 275 acres.

He told neighbors the story and 3 other Landowners have given me like permissions to their properties. I now have a little over 950 acres to hunt within 10 minutes of my house.

2 of the landowners are in their 80's and are walking history books, they know where all the old home sites were at and something about who lived there back then.

So, I fix myself a lunch a few days a week, load up and go enjoy the day. and yes I've found some very cool stuff.

I'm not saying this is the way everyone should go about it but it works for me.

Very nice post Normx2
Put yourself into someone's shoes .
Heck , your welcome to find treasure in my yard any time your in my neighborhood .
One of the best posts I have read in a long time .
HH, Dew
 
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