Old Abandoned House...

[Crumble]

So I found an old abandoned house, there were no signs or anything indicating who owns it, the roof is all caved in, it looks early 1900s, kind of in the middle of nowhere, I read somewhere that an oil company bought this land like 50 years ago (no oil pumps in sight)... Would you just grab the detector and hit it? Or should I try to track down the oil company, and most likely get a big NO from the ceo?..

Also, what about an abandoned house that I cant find an owner of? Just hit it? Leave a note on the door asking them to contact me, and hope they find the note when they come by once a year?...

Is there a way to find the name/contact info of the owner of a certain piece of land?

I looked at 1950/60's topographic map and both houses already looked abandoned in the 50/60s.

I'm new to this, obviously.

[Beach Bum]

I am one of those do it and wait for someone to tell you to leave people...but I read that R&R post where the guy lost his detector and has to go to court for a misdemeanor trespassing ticket. That sort of put things into perspective for me. This hobby isnt worth losing my livelihood, over stupidity.

After saying that, I would probably contact the local PD and see if they know who owns the property and explain why you need it. Never know, they might just help you out.

[Crumble]

There is a hiking/bike trail that goes right by the house that may be on oil company land, maybe the land got donated to the city or something. Tempted to just throw on my camoflague and get busy.

[junkhunter]

if it is then dont,if not they must give you a warning 1st time in most states.

[Chewbacca]

Go to the tax office and check the records on who owns the property, they can provide you with a name and address for the person, then write or visit that person or company. Always get permission is my motto.

[Joves]

Originally Posted by Chewbacca

Go to the tax office and check the records on who owns the property, they can provide you with a name and address for the person, then write or visit that person or company. Always get permission is my motto.

I agree because when you dont people look down on all of us.

[Charlives]

We have a owner parcel map at our town's website.....and we are not wealthy. I bet you can find the owner from your house.

[Kayaker]

Here's my one experience...

This spring I decided to check out an old, Victorian era farmhouse right off the highway I take to work. You can see it from the interstate but have to drive about a half mile up a dirt side road to get to it. The house looks like it was beautiful in its day but obviously hadn't been lived in for years.
The roof was in bad shape, the porch was collapsed, every window was smashed and I think even a door was missing - weeds and junk everywhere. There was a barn about 100 feet away with and early 70's car in it, covered in dirt. I decided, "what the heck" and spent about half an hour poking around with my detector, finding nothing but buried trash - sheet metal scraps, nails, foil.

Of course, after that half hour, I came around front and see flashing lights and a State Trooper checking out my car and license plate. I tried not to panic and laid my detector down by a tree and walked back to my car. Now I'm dressed in my "business casual" work clothes and don't look very threatening even on my worst day, so I'm sure the officer could tell right then that I wasn't ransacking the place. The officer asked what I was doing there, as it was private property (no "Posted" signs, that I could see) and he says the owners had asked them to arrest anybody they see on the property. He said kids or druggies have been partying in it and people had been ripping out everything not nailed down.
I 'fessed up and told him I had just gotten a metal detector and though that it'd be a good place to try using it. He politely but firmly told me to leave. I mumbled a bit at this point about the fact that I had left my detector by the house and let go get it and I hightailed it outta there.

I should have known better. For ME, it's better to ask and not risk the anxiety of "what if I'm trespassing". My wife would be kinda ticked if she had to bail me out.