#portland maine Tag | The Ring Finders

I received a call from Robert, concerning finding 3 of his property markers, on his South Portland, Maine property. Robert knew where one of his property markers were, in the back Northeast corner of his property. That marker was just 7-8 years old and was put in when a new road and development had been put in, on the backside of his property. That marker would be a great starting point, to measure off of. Robert is looking to put a fence up along the backside of his property, where the newer road and development had been put in. He also wants to put a fence from the Northeast corner, to the Southeast corner. Ok, simple enough, especially since Robert had the dimensions of the lot and a newer known marker. We made an appointment to search on Saturday May 23rd, for 8:00am.

I told Robert that I would need him to sign a waiver, acknowledging that I am not a Licensed Surveyor. I can certainly find metal in the ground but I can not “verify” that the markers I find are in the correct location. The property markers could have been removed or moved all together, at some point and then put back in the ground. And they may not have been put back, in the correct location. Robert understood that I am not a Licensed Surveyor and agreed to sign the waiver. People have been sued because property markers were not in the correct location and I am not going to be sued, for trying to help others. FULL DISCLOSURE: I AM NOT A LICENSED SURVEYOR. I am just metal detectorist that can help you find metal, in the ground. What you decide to do with the found markers is up to you. I cannot tell you what you may or may not be able to do, with the property markers. Putting a fence up, cutting down trees, etc.. Only a Licensed Surveyor can do that. Procede at your own risk.

I was promptly met Saturday morning, by Robert. He showed me the know marker and we decided that the best way to procede would be to measure 63’ to the missing marker, in the Northwest corner. I grabbed my 300’ tape measure and started measuring towards the missing marker. Once 63’ was attained, I looked down and couldn’t see anything. I didn’t have my metal detector, since it was down near the known marker. I grabbed my pinpointer, searched the area and received a target. I took my trowel out of my pouch, dug a hole and there was a broken property marker, just a half ince under the saoil, right at 63’. PERFECT, and easy enough. We then decided to search for the Southwest corner’s marker. This would be a little more challenging because there was a row trees running most of the distance between the two markers. We couldn’t measure through the trees. Robert thought the marker would be very close and in line with the trees, in an area right next to or under a bush, near his driveway. As I started searching around the bush, I wasn’t getting the signal I was looking for. We dug a few ferrous items but no property marker. As we were searching the area Robert’s neighbor came out to see what we were up to. Robert explained we were looking for the markers and his neighbor told me that it would be nice to know where they were but had never seen his markers at all and he has lived in his house since 1995. His neighbor did tell us the he was told the markeron the other side of his driveway lined up with the telephone, supposedly. Since the distance from that marker to the marker we were looking for was 80’ apart, we could locate Roberts neighbors marker an then just measure the 80”. Lets go. Once we arrived down across from the telephone, I started searching and almost immediately received a nice ferrous target. I was given permission to dig, by the neighbor and what do you know, another property marker had been found. Sweet!!! Now we could measure 80’ down to the property marker , near the bush and hopefully locate it. Once we measured the 80’ it was another success. The marker was found fairly quickly. We now measured 81’, down towards the Southeast corner of the property and hopefully find the marker. The area we came upon was once again across from a telephone pole and a broken telephone pole. The area also had a large steel cable and anchor, holding the poles, in place. As I searched the area, my detector kept going off because of all the metal, of the cable and anchor. Only one thing to do. I would grab my Root Slayer and just start digging around all the metal. After 5 minutes or so, SUCCESS!!! The final property marker had been found. Robert was very pleased, as was his neighbor, who now knows where two of his markers are. Robert had bought some heavy duty metal rods and pounded them in so the marker locations could be easily seen. This was a fairly easy search, compared to others I have done where the markers in in thick, thorny vegetation and others where the markers are not found. Robert now plans to put his fence up and I wish him well. I arrived looking for 3 property markers and left after finding four markers. I have the best job in the world, I love my job ❤️🙏

PSA: Many people will remove the markers, in their front yards because they find them unsightly and a pain to mow around. You really shouldn’t do that. When I purchased my home in 1993, I was told by my neighbor that one of the previous owners had pulled the two front markers out, just for those reasons. I have never been able to locate those markers. Don’t forget, your property marker is also your neighbors property marker and shows the boundary, of BOTH properties. DO NOT MOVE THESE MARKERS. In the State of Maine, it is against the law to do so. You are not legally allowed to drive or push a property pin further into the ground yourself, even if your only intention is to make your lawn look more aesthetic.
Under Maine law, altering a property marker carries strict legal consequences. ONLY A LICENSED SURVEYOR ARE ALLOWED TO ALTER PROPERTY MARKERS. You should always contact a Licensed Surveyor, should you need to do anything, with a property marker. Again, I am not a Licensed Surveyor and don’t pretend to be. I’m just a guy with a metal detector. So, if you would like your property markers found, I’m your guy, once the waiver is signed.