Big Boys Hobbies

Advice on permission please

Steveouke

Steveouke

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 11, 2012
Messages
284
Location
Kansas-middle of the US
I have been researching old school houses in my area. I have found a place two miles from my home that I would like to hunt. A schoolhouse is shown on 1885 and 1905 plat maps. Currently you can see a square of trees that I believe encapsulated the old school. The problem is that the land is owned by someone clear across the state and I cannot figure out how to get in touch with them. They own 130 acres around the corner acre or so that the school was on. There are no houses on the property so door knocking is out of the question. Would you just go hunt it? The property is essentially middle of nowhere. I think I could probably hunt it and nobody would ever say a thing.... But I know that someone owns it and it's private. I cannot find anything about the owners online. Simply a name of the LLC that owns it and the town they are in. What are your thoughts.
 
You always need permission to hunt private property. Go to your county website, almost all of them offer free online GIS mapping that can be correlated to the ownership/tax record, often inside the application itself. Call them up and ask if needed.
The parcel number can be matched to tax records.


Steveouke said:
I have been researching old school houses in my area. I have found a place two miles from my home that I would like to hunt. A schoolhouse is shown on 1885 and 1905 plat maps. Currently you can see a square of trees that I believe encapsulated the old school. The problem is that the land is owned by someone clear across the state and I cannot figure out how to get in touch with them. They own 130 acres around the corner acre or so that the school was on. There are no houses on the property so door knocking is out of the question. Would you just go hunt it? The property is essentially middle of nowhere. I think I could probably hunt it and nobody would ever say a thing.... But I know that someone owns it and it's private. I cannot find anything about the owners online. Simply a name of the LLC that owns it and the town they are in. What are your thoughts.
Click to expand...
 
It wouldn't be unreasonable to think someone nearby (neighbor) would be keeping an eye on the property for the owner (for trash dumpers, etc.). Ask a neighbor who owns it, or even who farms it (if it's surrounded by crops). You might even get permission from the one who farms it.
 
Milhaus, Thank you for the input. I have gone through GIS mapping for years though and this just leads me to a PO Box in the city that the owner has the PO box in. I have tried researching the PO Box number, LLC name, and that cities chamber of commerce to find out who it is without results.

Gauntlet, I like the idea of asking the person that is farming the crop portion of the land. I hadn't thought about someone else leasing the land out being able to grant permission. That may very well be my next avenue of pursuit.

Last night I did go out and look around and it is not posted no trespassing etc. If everything comes to a dead end would you go ahead and hunt it?
 
Steveouke said:
Last night I did go out and look around and it is not posted no trespassing etc. If everything comes to a dead end would you go ahead and hunt it?
Click to expand...

No, because signs don't make any difference. Lack of signs isn't an open invitation to trespass.

Many don't take kindly to those who show a lack of respect for their property (and rural folks tend to look out for each other). Asking permission gets you a 50-50 chance, trespassing guarantees you'll get the boot, as well as those who follow who do ask permission. They'll likely get an automatic "no" because of the MD'er before them.
 
Steveouke said:
I have been researching old school houses in my area. I have found a place two miles from my home that I would like to hunt. A schoolhouse is shown on 1885 and 1905 plat maps. Currently you can see a square of trees that I believe encapsulated the old school. The problem is that the land is owned by someone clear across the state and I cannot figure out how to get in touch with them. They own 130 acres around the corner acre or so that the school was on. There are no houses on the property so door knocking is out of the question. Would you just go hunt it? The property is essentially middle of nowhere. I think I could probably hunt it and nobody would ever say a thing.... But I know that someone owns it and it's private. I cannot find anything about the owners online. Simply a name of the LLC that owns it and the town they are in. What are your thoughts.
Click to expand...

Try going to the state Secretary of State office website for the LLC and finding the name of the registered agent. If that doesn't work, send a note to the PO Box asking them to call you about a question about the property. Don't just ask permission in the letter. Do not make the letter look like a form letter. Hand writing may even be a good idea.
 
Agree with Gaunlet 100%. Find someone to ask, who knows, asking the farmer near by may get you permission to more properties including the old farm house. Never a good idea to hunt private land without permission.

I have also tracked down LLC companies and people across the country that own land in my town, and was able to contact them. white pages.com works wonders if you know the name and city they live in. You may get a number that way. Phone conversations have never landed me permission yet, so I would try face to face with a person near the property first and see where you get. If you get a no from them, you can always trump their decision with permission from the actual land owner. It doesn't work the other way around. If the land owner says no, you are out regardless of what the neighbors say.
 
Then I would print out or screen shot the two adjacent property's parcel numbers and a map and email the county assessor's office for the record.
 
pocketspill said:
Try going to the state Secretary of State office website for the LLC and finding the name of the registered agent.
Click to expand...


Pocketspill is dropping some good knowledge. The Secretary of State website is very easy to use, you just simply type the company name in the search engine. And since most people are cheap, there is a fair chance that the registered agent is them individually, instead of an attorney.

Why do forum members entertain the idea of trespassing, even though it is not posted no trespass? The definition of trespassing is entering or remaining on someone′s property without permission. It is pretty straight forward. If it is posted then your are automatically guilty of trespassing without debate.

Without a sign, you might be given the benefit of the doubt if it is reasonable. Such as going beyond the boundary of a public park which is not clearly delineated. However in this case, you do not own the property and do not have permission, so it would be hard to argue that you were unaware that you were trespassing.

In addition to trespass, you would be guilty of theft by taking, if you removed items from the premises without the owners permission. When you purchase a property, you are purchasing a "bundle of rights." And those rights include keeping people off your property and from taking items from your property whether it be in your garage or minerals/coins in your yard.


Brian
 
One call to the city of business- NO Help
One call to the small town post office- Tell them the PO box and they say that is a business account and here is the info. Informed me that business privacy is not near as aggressive as general public.
One call to Landowner who owns millions of acres- Permission granted. He also has an MD but lives a state away. Said he would send me some other properties he owns in a 50 mile radius so that I could research them as well.

Glad I got to talk to him and got permission.
 
Steveouke said:
One call to the city of business- NO Help
One call to the small town post office- Tell them the PO box and they say that is a business account and here is the info. Informed me that business privacy is not near as aggressive as general public.
One call to Landowner who owns millions of acres- Permission granted. He also has an MD but lives a state away. Said he would send me some other properties he owns in a 50 mile radius so that I could research them as well.

Glad I got to talk to him and got permission.
Click to expand...


Super Job!!!! :clapping::clapping::clapping:


And by doing it the right way, you are set for years. Karma in Action. Way cool!!!!!!


Brian
 
Awesome!! you did the right thing and now you can detect without constantly looking over your shoulder. Plus, you scored some more places.
 
I would just like to say that Trespassing was always last resort. It just seems like some places it would be so much easier and the risk of getting caught very low. I have always asked permission if it is obvious who owns it or easily a phone call away. This place just took alot more effort to get in the right channel. The final owner was totally different than what my counties GIS map showed. The person on GIS is the caretaker. I'm just not accustomed to having to dive that deep.
 
Steveouke said:
I would just like to say that Trespassing was always last resort. It just seems like some places it would be so much easier and the risk of getting caught very low.
Click to expand...


The old saying is that "reputation" is how you act when people are looking and "character" is how you act when no one is watching. Shoplifting is still a crime even if your not caught. I fully realize that trespassing seems like a victimless crime. But keep in mind, you are trespassing in order to dig up items that do not belong to you without permission.

I have a CW site near me with a commercial for sale sign on it, and the house has been long abandoned. Your success story has inspired me to try and track down the owner.


Brian
 
Went to the property tonight to hunt it and the first target was a 41 wheatie. Alot of iron in the ground which was wreaking havoc on the Ace 250. Pics are up on the blog!
 
Good job getting permission! I've only hunted public lands so far but now I'm encouraged to approach private land owners requesting permission.
 
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