Big Boys Hobbies

What to charge???

diggerTmole

diggerTmole

Elite Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2011
Messages
679
Location
Illinois
Ok. Since October I have been paid twice to look for property markers. I got 15 once and 20 another time. Yesterday an older farmer asked me if I could go to his fathers old homesite and MD it for him. The catch is that he wants me to give him EVERYTHING I find. Even the coins. I understand. Lots of sentimental value.

He said he would pay me the value of whatever a coin is. Seriously what would you charge for say a 1905 IH? I dug three IHs on the edge of the road while a guy watched me last month. He wanted to give me 5 bucks for each one. He even offered me a twenty!! I kept em since I am now turned into a coin collector from MDin and thought they would be rare finds. Ive found at least 15 more since. So I shoulda sold em I guess.

Whats a fair hourly rate?? 8 bucks an hour plus payment for finds??

I dont wanna be greedy with the guy. Being generous with my finds to homeowners has got me some great spots to hunt.
 
Not trying to tell you what to do, but very cautious about finding property markers for people. Check the laws in your state. Most times if your not a licensed surveyor it could be illegal for you to to do that and/or get paid for it.
I dont think I would hunt a property if the owner wanted everything.
Pay me for it or not. I'm in this hobby for the enjoyment of what I find for myself. Yes, I'll help anyone find a lost item but I metal detect for me.
There's plenty of places to hunt without giving up everything you find............
 
BlackZ51Vett said:
Not trying to tell you what to do, but very cautious about finding property markers for people. Check the laws in your state. Most times if your not a licensed surveyor it could be illegal for you to to do that and/or get paid for it.
Click to expand...

I'm not a lawyer, but it is my understanding that you cannot get into trouble by charging to find property markers.

Where you CAN get into trouble is if you make any kind of claim that the property markers are placed accurately.

But you wouldn't do that, would you?

All you're doing is finding rods that someone has pounded into the ground. You are making no determination of their possible meaning.

No problem with that!
 
diggerTmole said:
Ok. Since October I have been paid twice to look for property markers. I got 15 once and 20 another time. Yesterday an older farmer asked me if I could go to his fathers old homesite and MD it for him. The catch is that he wants me to give him EVERYTHING I find. Even the coins. I understand. Lots of sentimental value.

He said he would pay me the value of whatever a coin is. Seriously what would you charge for say a 1905 IH? I dug three IHs on the edge of the road while a guy watched me last month. He wanted to give me 5 bucks for each one. He even offered me a twenty!! I kept em since I am now turned into a coin collector from MDin and thought they would be rare finds. Ive found at least 15 more since. So I shoulda sold em I guess.

Whats a fair hourly rate?? 8 bucks an hour plus payment for finds??

I dont wanna be greedy with the guy. Being generous with my finds to homeowners has got me some great spots to hunt.
Click to expand...

Sounds like an awesome site to explore, productive. Think I'd work out a reasonable hourly rate, and see how the owner does with the finds. His land, the finds are really his, since he's paying you to locate and recover. What ever bonuses he wants to give on top of the wage, is always cool. I'd take lots of pictures, and enjoy digging such a rich site. Your skills are going to improve too, with so many good targets.

Don't know the laws about the markers, don't think locating them is illegal, since pretty much anyone could go out and dig around until they they found them. It's not a survey, in a legal sense, and you aren't defining any boundaries for anyone, in an official sense, just locating the markers that were placed there for that purpose. Some simple disputes can be resolved in this way, without spending hundreds of dollars. Something that involves a structure, or some other more permanent construction, on or near the property line, should seek a professional survey, and the local codes should be checked first, the fines, and demolition over a foot or two, would exceed the cost of a surveyor.
 
yea finding markers and placing markers is two different issues.
an hourly rate is tough, esp since you have to not only factor in your time but also your equipment. i think i'd find it hard ta part with a nice seated or old coin if i was on the clock
 
Interesting thread.....

A guy gave me $20 for just trying to find property stakes in the woods. I said no 3 times and that's my limit. If someone asks you to MD their property then it's $15/hr minimum.
1905 IH is about $.80 That's Blue Book value. Red Book would be more.
Good luck. It could be a slippery slope but it sounds like you know what you're up against.
As far as giving up "everything" that's up to your ethics. If I agreed to those terms I would give up the goods BUT would demand the right to research interesting coins and photograph them.
Marty
 
diggerTmole said:
Ok. Since October I have been paid twice to look for property markers. I got 15 once and 20 another time. Yesterday an older farmer asked me if I could go to his fathers old homesite and MD it for him. The catch is that he wants me to give him EVERYTHING I find. Even the coins. I understand. Lots of sentimental value.

He said he would pay me the value of whatever a coin is. Seriously what would you charge for say a 1905 IH? I dug three IHs on the edge of the road while a guy watched me last month. He wanted to give me 5 bucks for each one. He even offered me a twenty!! I kept em since I am now turned into a coin collector from MDin and thought they would be rare finds. Ive found at least 15 more since. So I shoulda sold em I guess.

Whats a fair hourly rate?? 8 bucks an hour plus payment for finds??

I dont wanna be greedy with the guy. Being generous with my finds to homeowners has got me some great spots to hunt.
Click to expand...


i know this wasn't a part of your original question, but the biggest "issue" i can think of when searching for property markers would be if you were to stray across the boundaries and end up being on someone else's land. that could present a trespassing situation.
but yeah, if someone were to pay you for searching for markers, all you're basically doing is looking for a piece of steel in the ground. avoid saying that such-and-such a marker is indeed "his" marker, as it may or may not be. it's up to someone else to determine who's marker it really is.

back to your question, i think no less than $10/hour would be fair. if you're detecting specifically for the purposes of giving everything to the land owner, then you're not exactly doing it from the hobby point of view and yes, you should get some sort of payment out of it since you're not getting any of the found items for yourself.
and if he's also willing to pay you the equivalent of what the stuff is worth, you're not losing anything. the sentimental value of some items would certainly be a lot more than any monetary value, but if you dig a coin worth 20 bucks, then why not take the $20! :yes:
keep in mind melt value and collector value for coins and other items can differ significantly and it wouldn't hurt to have a written agreement, signed by both of you just so everything is clear... just in case you were to turn up something of great value. :yes:

:my2cents:
Pete
 
ewemule said:
1905 IH is about $.80 That's Blue Book value. Red Book would be more.
Marty
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Sad to say, I've never dug an Indian head penny that would command book price. They are all crusted and pitted and just plain ugly from being in the ground for a century.

And if you "clean" them, they are worth even less.
 
dan said:
I'm not a lawyer, but it is my understanding that you cannot get into trouble by charging to find property markers.

Where you CAN get into trouble is if you make any kind of claim that the property markers are placed accurately.

But you wouldn't do that, would you?

All you're doing is finding rods that someone has pounded into the ground. You are making no determination of their possible meaning.

No problem with that!
Click to expand...


If there is a dispute over the position of a boundary line, it is in the best interest of BOTH owners to seek the advice of a professional surveyor. Every land ownership boundary line in the U.S. is described and/or defined by a map or deed. In order to retrace that line accurately (ie: in its proper position) the research must be done to ensure that the footsteps of the original setting surveyor are being followed. That research usually begins at a County level (as mentioned by Holograph) and may require research of adjoining properties to find the necessary evidence to determine proper location of lines and corner monumentation (if any).

Angular measurements are defined using compass bearings and distances are usually in decimal feet. Older maps, from the early 1900's and older, use survey chains (not feet) for distance. Some maps in some parts of the country use metrics. Coordinates of any kind (geodetic, State Plane, or other) are very rarely used to define the position of property boundaries and corners. While a handheld GPSr is useful for somethings, determining property boundary and corner location is not one of them, and attempting to locate a line in question with one could create more confusion, particularly if the intent is to set a marker. (It should be noted that looking for a particular property corner for the sake of curiousity is perfectly fine, however, attempting to do survey work in order to define a property corner or boundary is illegal to do unless you are licensed as a Land Surveyor.)

http://www.ilga.gov/commission/jcar/admincode/068/068012700000560R.html
 
Metal detecting is a hobby, but it is also a skill/trade that is refined and not everyone has the ability to do. It's like being an electrician, plumber, mechanic, etc. Having a special skill like this can command high wages. With that being said, I am one for always volunteering my services because to me it is a hobby still.

However, that is usually when I am looking for a lost ring or item that is dear to someone. Hunting someone's land to find everything that it holds, I would like to be able to have them agree to a split in the finds type of deal and let that be the end of it, no cash exchanged agreement. I am all for saving history on that front. But with your issue, he has made it clear he wants to keep everything found (make sure to give him all the trash too :lol:) and then pay you for your time and the worth of finds. As metal detecting becoming a trade in this sense, I would have no issue if you charged upwards of $20 an hour. Keep in mind if you are just walking around and not digging signals, he may not get happy because he may feel his money isn't getting him anything, hence the dig the trash comment :lol:

I officiate high school basketball (a trade) and we get paid $65 to do a varsity game. Not bad when you divide that over 1 1/2 hours of work. The other option you could do is set your hourly rate so high that he won't agree to it and you could say "well lets just split the finds, you get half and I get half." Lay all the finds out, let him take the first pick, you the second, him the third, and so on until they are gone. No matter what route you choose, definitely write up a contract and have both of you sign it just in case things get hairy, which they shouldn't, but you never know!
 
I'd either do it for free for him, or not do it at all. Negotiating deals is the last thing I want to do when metal detecting. But if I did it I sure wouldn't be spending the whole day there.
 
Unless I got at least 15 an hour. I'd just find another place. I aint in this for the money but, I aint doing it for nothing either. You bought the machine, gas to get there and back. Tell him "here is how much a quality machine will cost you, Hope you find enough to pay for it. I'll Help ANYONE find a lost item but thats where the "nice train" stops.
 
MDings my hobby period. If some of my neighbors ask me to find thier pins I do it for nothing as it's the neighborly thing to do and if they want my finds to detect thier properties I just say no thanks and move on. But it's never happened to me yet that they ask me for my finds, they just want to see them and when I show a bag of junk they never ask again.:lol:
 
AceGVSU11 said:
Lay all the finds out, let him take the first pick, you the second, him the third, and so on until they are gone....
Click to expand...

This is unfair to whomever picks last, Say there are 20 items. In the first round, the first guy gets the best item, the second guy gets second best.

In the next round, the first guy gets the best item, the second guy gets second best. And it's the same until the items are gone.

Better that you decide in advance which of you will divide all the finds into two stacks. Then the other guy gets to pick his stack. It's like the story about mom making one kid cut the pie in half, and the other kid gets to pick his half. Keeps the divider honest!

And if the finds are a gold ring and 20 coins, instead of one guy getting the ring and ten coins and the other guy just getting 10 coins, one stack would be the ring, and the other stack the 20 coins. Not 50-50, but better than alternate choices.

(Or, you could agree in advance to sell any valuable finds and splitting what you get,

OR you each bid on the valuable item and the winner pays his bid to the loser.)
 
dan said:
This is unfair to whomever picks last, Say there are 20 items. In the first round, the first guy gets the best item, the second guy gets second best.

In the next round, the first guy gets the best item, the second guy gets second best. And it's the same until the items are gone.

Better that you decide in advance which of you will divide all the finds into two stacks. Then the other guy gets to pick his stack. It's like the story about mom making one kid cut the pie in half, and the other kid gets to pick his half. Keeps the divider honest!

And if the finds are a gold ring and 20 coins, instead of one guy getting the ring and ten coins and the other guy just getting 10 coins, one stack would be the ring, and the other stack the 20 coins. Not 50-50, but better than alternate choices.

(Or, you could agree in advance to sell any valuable finds and splitting what you get,

OR you each bid on the valuable item and the winner pays his bid to the loser.)
Click to expand...

The way you do it is the one who gets 1st pick goes, then whoever gets second pick gets to pick the 2nd and 3rd, then the next gets 4th n 5th and so forth.. This makes up for getti.g first pick a bit. Fantasy football style picking....lol
 
Iron Patch said:
I'd either do it for free for him, or not do it at all. Negotiating deals is the last thing I want to do when metal detecting. But if I did it I sure wouldn't be spending the whole day there.
Click to expand...

Pretty much agree with doing it for free. The best part is simply "the find". Land owner will end-up with it all anyway, but I would want to be able to take pics of my finds (as in I found them, though they belong to someone else).
 
AceGVSU11 said:
The way you do it is the one who gets 1st pick goes, then whoever gets second pick gets to pick the 2nd and 3rd, then the next gets 4th n 5th and so forth.. This makes up for getti.g first pick a bit. Fantasy football style picking....lol
Click to expand...

Yep, that's a good way to do it, as long as there are no great variations in value of the items. But if one is worth a lot more, I like the "two stacks" way.
 
In a legal sense, finding an iron rod in the ground, even charging to do that is not illegal...purporting it to be a legal boundary corner or marker stake would be illegal if you are not a licensed land surveyor.

So...here is how I have handled this. Property owner asks me to find his property corner/ boundary marker...I tell him...I can find an iron rod for you for $15. If I do, I put no claim to you that it is your legal corner or boundary marker. He says ok and we hand shake on that agreement. I find the rod and tell him, here is the rod I found. He pays me $15...I take the money and leave.

......THEN, it is his business as to whether HE assumes it is his boundary marker, corner marker or whatever.

Never had a problem by handling it that way.

PS: I am not a lawyer, but have been around them long enough to know something about them and the situation. My intent was to find an iron rod, making no assumption it has any legal validity. After all, anyone could have come in, pulled up the rod and hammered it in a few feet away! Its the property owner that assumes the rod has legal validity. If he is uncertain, then HE should hire a registered land surveyor to confirm it.
 
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