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914World.com _ 914World Garage _ OT: How can I get a name from a license plate?
Posted by: Ferg Jul 11 2005, 12:49 PM
Wife just called, and a strange man was taking pictures of our house specifically. She was walking home from the pool, and he made a few passes in front of our house, doubled back and then stopped, and started taking pics. She got his plate number, and now I'm curious who he is and his intentions. 
Any free way to get a name and address from a Colorado License Plate number?
Our house is not unique and in a big (600 homes) development. So our model home is repeated on every street.
TIA
Ferg.
Posted by: GWN7 Jul 11 2005, 01:00 PM
Call the cops. Let them find out what he's up to. That way you have documented what is going on.
Posted by: markb Jul 11 2005, 01:13 PM
| QUOTE (GWN7 @ Jul 11 2005, 11:00 AM) |
| Call the cops. Let them find out what he's up to. That way you have documented what is going on. |
Posted by: MikeP Jul 11 2005, 01:14 PM
absolutely document, document, document. The cops don't take anything seriously until it is too late so get them involved EARLY.
Posted by: Mueller Jul 11 2005, 01:17 PM
are you re-financing??
recently purchase the house??
late on payments? 
Posted by: 914GT Jul 11 2005, 01:25 PM
Also, insurance folks often go out to photograph properties of their clients. Might call your agent to check if it was one of them.
Posted by: Ferg Jul 11 2005, 01:26 PM
Called the cops, they said they would increase patrol...
They asked if I wanted a officer to contact me, I said not really unless they found out something based on the plate number.
We moved in two months ago, have always made our payments ect ect... My first thought is that it is a realitor taking a pic to show clients of what's been sold recently.
I make it a point to always keep the garage shut, and confirmed with the wife that it was down when he drove by.
Ferg.
Posted by: Mueller Jul 11 2005, 01:35 PM
a neighbor might be doing a re-fi and that was an appraiser looking for "comps"
hope it's something as simple as that....
Posted by: Ferg Jul 11 2005, 01:36 PM
just got off the phone with my insurance agent who is new... he said it was very possible it was a service they hire. He claimed we should have been contacted but admitted it's very possible that they dropped the ball.
Later
Ferg.
Posted by: rhodyguy Jul 11 2005, 01:39 PM
mike, it may be an appraiser looking for comparible recent sales since your's recently changed owners. one came to my door asking if he could take pictures. i told him sure (pause) "for $50 cash, today". he told me he would just go into the street and take them. i stood in the front yard and gave him the finger until he got in his car and drove off. give the police the licence number. ask them to contact the guy to find out what his reason for cruising the neighborhood was, and report back to you. not with the personal info, just to ease your concerns. i bet they will work with you.
k
Posted by: anthony Jul 11 2005, 01:39 PM
If you just moved in two months ago, it could very well be like Mueller said, another real estate agent doing comps.
Posted by: Ferg Jul 11 2005, 01:52 PM
If I was home, I would have stuck a bannana in his tail pipe! 
Posted by: tat2dphreak Jul 11 2005, 02:05 PM
follow him, then dig through his trash...
that's how I found sandra bullock 
Posted by: ematulac Jul 11 2005, 02:06 PM
We moved into our house in February and the same thing happened to us a week or so ago. The garage door was down, but my wife was out front watering the plants. She asked him what he was up to, and he said he was a realtor. I forget exactly what his explanation was, but I'm thinking he was doing comps as well.
I don't suppose thieves would case a house while the owner was watering the front yard, would they? 
Posted by: bryanthompson Jul 11 2005, 02:28 PM
I moved into my house just a week ago, and today the county assessor came by and took pictures and asked a bunch of questions.
Posted by: bd1308 Jul 11 2005, 03:04 PM
| QUOTE (tat2dphreak @ Jul 11 2005, 02:05 PM) |
| follow him, then dig through his trash... that's how I found sandra bullock |
she is SO hot....
Posted by: tat2dphreak Jul 11 2005, 03:18 PM
| QUOTE (bd1308 @ Jul 11 2005, 04:04 PM) | ||
she is SO hot.... |
want her address?
I can't go within 500 yards, though... 
Posted by: jridder Jul 11 2005, 03:34 PM
A lot of paranoid people out there. As far as I know it's perfectly legal for anyone to take a picture of any house as long as they are not standing on your property when they do it. It probably happens all the time without people knowing (by appraisers, assessors, insurance companies, etc.). Finally, what how would a picture of your house help a "really bad guy" (thief, child molester, whatever)?
Posted by: larryp Jul 11 2005, 04:35 PM
Or if you recently moved in, it could be your homeowner's insurance carrier making sure you have what you said you did, e.g., a garage, no pool, no collapsing second story decks, etc.
Posted by: bd1308 Jul 11 2005, 04:54 PM
| QUOTE (tat2dphreak @ Jul 11 2005, 03:18 PM) | ||||
want her address? I can't go within 500 yards, though... |
you're kidding....that would be cool though. Funny one.
Posted by: MattR Jul 11 2005, 05:09 PM
get a paintball gun
splat splat
Posted by: street legal go-kart Jul 11 2005, 06:11 PM
Make sure the 12 GA has fresh shells and if you haven't trained the Mrs. to shoot, do it now.
We all take for granted our safety in the USA.
I just got back from 10 days in China.
Visiting potential vendors ,with a very reputable host company ............ and discreetly armed bodyguards the WHOLE time.
I took it as a comment on how valueable my party was to them.
My wife works within the court system and I guess I'm just cautious.
JT
Posted by: wheelo Jul 11 2005, 06:44 PM
Insurance co's send out sub-contracted home inspection service people.
They often don't coordinate... just get-in-and-out ... with the pic's...
That's my 2 cents... keep the gun loaded though.... our neighbors house was
robbed last month in broad daylight!
- M
Posted by: Rand Jul 11 2005, 09:13 PM
| QUOTE |
| rhodyguy: he told me he would just go into the street and take them. i stood in the front yard and gave him the finger until he got in his car and drove off |
| QUOTE |
| ferg: If I was home, I would have stuck a bannana in his tail pipe! |
You guys crack me up. Now I can just hear Eddie Murphy mocking Rosewood... "You're not gonna fall for the banana in the tail pipe?"
Kudos to your wife for noting the plate number. Now if YOU were there, you would have been in his face, or flattening his tires (just holding the valve stem valve in while waiting for an explanation
) , or...
Posted by: Ferg Jul 12 2005, 08:16 AM
| QUOTE (Rand @ Jul 11 2005, 07:13 PM) | ||||
You guys crack me up. Now I can just hear Eddie Murphy mocking Rosewood... "You're not gonna fall for the banana in the tail pipe?" Kudos to your wife for noting the plate number. Now if YOU were there, you would have been in his face, or flattening his tires (just holding the valve stem valve in while waiting for an explanation ) , or... |
nah, the trick with the tires is, you put a small pebble inside of the valve stem cap, that way evertime they screw the cap on they have a slow leak. Usually takes them a while to catch on
.Ferg
Posted by: Howard Jul 12 2005, 08:30 AM
| QUOTE (Ferg @ Jul 11 2005, 12:36 PM) |
| just got off the phone with my insurance agent who is new... he said it was very possible it was a service they hire. He claimed we should have been contacted but admitted it's very possible that they dropped the ball. Later Ferg. |
Betcha that's it. Pretty much all insurance companies do a drive by on new policies, and 60 days is the typical lag time. They don't usually contact you unless they see something realy hinky and want to get in the house or back yard.
I just changed companies a couple of months ago and got a memo from the new company to trim some branches that were touching the roof. They look for things like that, cracks in driveways or sidewalks that could be trip and fall risks, etc.
As your agent to call the company to verify it was them if you're still concerned, but kudos to your wife for being alert.
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