Bank Owned property

Magicmantx

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 17, 2017
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265
Location
Cherokee Village AR
So after doing some research and checking on an old fairgrounds site I looked it up and managed to track down the site where the county fair had been held previously . Seems it was started about 80 years ago and was held there up until the mid 80's or so. I don't know how much detector activity it has had previously. I did some searching on google earth and you can clearly see where there were at least 2 structures that are no longer there. Today I went into the Tax assessors office and was told it is owned by a local banking chain. I'm not sure what would be my best approach to gaining permission. Its a good size are maybe around 10 acres . Just basically a big empty lot no trees or anything on the property. Maybe if I go in and deposit 100K in their bank they'll be more welcoming lol. I need to relocate some funds anyway so it may work.
 
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Personally, I would say go for it. It is possible that the bank has hired a security firm to look in on it from time to time, but I would doubt they are there looking for metal detectors. If there are no signs saying posted or not trespassing and it is not fenced, I would give it a shot. All they can do is tell you to leave. Don't leave holes, don't mess anything up, etc. I would bet it has been detected, but that's still lots of room to hide stuff. If it is fenced - no. If you are in Texas, if the land is fenced or if there are posted signs, or if there are posts or trees with purple paint on them (I'm not kidding), then if you go on the property you are technically guilty of criminal trespass. Won't get you arrested unless the cops/sheriff/constable tells you to leave and you don't, but best not to even start it. If not fenced, no notices saying 'no trespassing' or posted or purple-painted posts or trees, then it is not criminal trespass. It still may be civil trespass, which means you could be sued. But who would spend all that money for lawyers to get $1 in nominal damages? But if you are asked to leave and you don't - now it is criminal trespass. You have notice that the owner does not want you there.
 
Hey! Thats a good idea there! If you are going into deposit and open a New Account especially! The heck with the free toaster! Right then and there is the time to get the permission! I'd say..."Hey, I know you guys own such and such...just want to let you know I'll be out there with my detector walking around and relaxing..." OK? "Let your Property Mgr know I'm a valuable customer"...or some such...not really ask, sort of simply tell...

Then, get the bankers business card and carry it with you just in case...if hassled, tell the guy to call your account Mgr over at the office...they wont..they will leave you alone...

Cool! Report back with your finds! It could be just loaded!
 
If it's not fenced off, go for it! If someone gives you a hard time, make up some bs about how your wife lost her wedding band at the latest fair :laughing:
 
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Personally, I would say go for it....

If it's not fenced off, go for it!..

To piggyback off Texaspast & sandgroper : When the housing market value crash happened in CA (10 or 12-ish yrs. ago) a lot of people walked away from 'backwards' mortgages, and let the banks repo. their homes. There were some affected neighborhoods where it wasn't unusual to see 3 or 4 homes boarded up, per block ! All now owned by various nameless faceless banks in another city or state.

I knew some guys who simply went yard to yard.
 
Yeah, I don't see that anyone would really care if they saw you there, at least not enough to call the bank. However, if you asked first, you may get told no. If your interested worse case scenario is you'd get asked to leave.
 
And while trespassing, don't bother filling your holes, and leave the trash laying where you left it. The true MDers trifecta :roll:
 
......"Hey, I know you guys own such and such...just want to let you know I'll be out there with my detector walking around and relaxing..." OK? ....

Then, get the bankers business card and carry it with you...

creative writing skill and advanced psychology all at play here. You phrase it in such a way that they mindlessly just nod their head yes. As if you "own the place" and it's just an innocuous "given".

The persona, when employed with "lost my wedding ring", would probably get mud-puppy onto shiloh, Bodie, Ghettysburg, white house lawn, etc....
 
Yeah the property is in northern arkansas where we just purchased a home. There are no fences or signs or purple markers etc. Its in a very small town but there are houses within sight of the property and probably the closest is a few hundred yards away. Its not being used for anything. It has been brush hogged and thats really about it. I seriously doubt anyone would care but don't want to ruffle feathers either. I was hoping it was still county owned and public property. I'm not even sure why or how the bank came to own it maybe the previous fair board defaulted? No clue . If I don't find anything I could withdraw my money LOL. I have been looking into local banks anyway and just so happens they were on the top of my list to consider. A banker is like a business partner. They can be a great asset or of no help at all.
 
And while trespassing, don't bother filling your holes, and leave the trash laying where you left it. The true MDers trifecta :roll:

No thats not how I would ever approach anyones property. I could just show up there and have at it but I won't. Since it's not Public Property then I will get the banks permission or it won't happen. Like anywhere else I will take great care to leave the place better than I found it.
 
To piggyback off Texaspast & sandgroper : When the housing market value crash happened in CA (10 or 12-ish yrs. ago) a lot of people walked away from 'backwards' mortgages, and let the banks repo. their homes. There were some affected neighborhoods where it wasn't unusual to see 3 or 4 homes boarded up, per block ! All now owned by various nameless faceless banks in another city or state.

I knew some guys who simply went yard to yard.

Had this been the case I might have considered just going ahead. There are lots of places owned by BofA etc and ever getting a permission from a company like that would be nearly impossible. if there were any sort of sign restricting access I would certainly heed the sign. In this case it's a locally owned small chain of community banks I think 8-9 branches. Since I am new to the area I don't want to get off on the wrong foot with community leaders and or local law enforcement. It's a very small town . It's cold and frozen right now anyway LOL
 
A property here was going to be auctioned on the courthouse steps for default on the mortgage. Nobody even showed up at the auction, so my husband and I were interesting in buying it as a short sale. We called several numbers, kept getting transferred, put on hold, etc. Finally talked to a nice man who gave us the number of another office that should be able to help us. That woman was so incompetent... she said what you mean short sale??? My husband explained how the bank might save money by selling it outright and not having to go through a realtor. She said, yeah I know what a short sale is. We don't do that here. You just have to wait and see if it get a for sale sign up.

It's been sitting there since summer, the back door is open and animals are running in and out. I can see that from driving by.

Anyways, I can't imagine how that employee would react if I'd ask to metal detect there. What you mean metal detect?
 
Good advice for dealing with those no's we get. Just remember to go at night. :laughing:

Not fenced ? No signs ? Wide open ? Here's what you do: Show up at the bank with a search & salvage contract. Put it on their lawyer's desk to sign. (They're more than happy to sign contracts put in front of them by total strangers after all). Be sure it uses all the right words like "holes", "dig", "treasure", "take/remove" , "lawsuit", and "indian bones". After all, you don't want to mince words or be less than forthcoming. After all, our hobby is horrible, evil, and dangerous, right ? :roll:
 
Not fenced ? No signs ? Wide open ? Here's what you do: Show up at the bank with a search & salvage contract. Put it on their lawyer's desk to sign. (They're more than happy to sign contracts put in front of them by total strangers after all). Be sure it uses all the right words like "holes", "dig", "treasure", "take/remove" , "lawsuit", and "indian bones". After all, you don't want to mince words or be less than forthcoming. After all, our hobby is horrible, evil, and dangerous, right ? :roll:

LOL maybe I should move my camper on it and claim it as my own country.
 
LOL maybe I should move my camper on it and claim it as my own country.

Of course. Metal detecting is exactly analogous to the eyesore and blight of if you homesteaded the location. Mayhem, destruction, etc.... In fact, it's worse than clubbing baby seals ! :crying:
 
Tell them you may be interested in buying the property. But first you need to locate the underground utilities.
 
Tell them you may be interested in buying the property. But first you need to locate the underground utilities.

haha. My father in law was thinking of investing in a real estate property years ago. But he wanted to know where the survey marker pegs were in the corners . So he recalled that I was into detecting, and asked for the help. I think he told the agent he was going to swing by and take a look. They said "sure, help yourself". Not only did I find the markers for my father in law, but ... went and hunted the rest of the yard (vacant home from the 1930s) too.
 
If you get questioned,
just say the Assesors office, hired you to located the property pins.
:shrug: shrug your shoulders and saying," well my work is done,
but the dept. of the soil conservation will be back to analyze & sterilize the soil."
(:sneaking: tip toe off as you leave) watch there reaction ......:shock:
 
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