Cell Towers

[greasemonkeyok]

Value to the tower company is very site specific. Locations are not always fungible, like a bushel of corn.
If it is flat land, the tower company can play one neighbor against another to get the lowest price. If you own the top of a mountain next to a railroad and an Interstate Highway intersection with a lot of traffic, it is worth more.

Biggest problems that I am aware of involve leaving the gate unlocked and open. Access by not only the tower company employees will be involved, but also all of the clients who hang equipment on the tower. If the gate is left open, they will point fingers at each other while your cattle roam out onto the highway. I recommend a lock carousel, a device that will allow you to control who has locks on the gate, plus if one of them leaves the gate open you know which one it was.

 

[dodge man]

I've done some land surveying for some, and they have a pretty small foot print. Usually a small tract for the tower, a smaller set of tracts for the guy wires, and an entrance road. Once built, they are pretty low maintance from the land owners point of view, just and ocassional truck or van. One thing to make sure of is there a clause for taking the tower down? Say 20 years from now the company goes out of buisness, the tower is old and needs to come down, it doesn't have any value, and you are stuck trying to figure out how to get rid of it. They can set aside money for this type of situation.

I know someone that has one on some ground and he calls it his "oil well" because it brings in some serious money.

 

[Pops15]

I know someone with cell towers on his property. One has been there for 15+ years. It brings in $1400+ a month. A few years ago he got a second tower. That one pays $800. They don't take up much space. They put in gravel drives to both and fenced off the tower sites.

 

[greasemonkeyok]

I know someone with cell towers on his property. One has been there for 15+ years. It brings in $1400+ a month. A few years ago he got a second tower. That one pays $800....

That would be useful information if we also knew the topography, and proximity to customers. $1,400.00 per month in the center of a densely populated area, near a truck stop on an interstate, is not a particularly good rate for the landowner. Ten miles from town on a farm to market road in a sparsely populated area, that rate is outstanding.

 

[DKCDKC]

Around here the tower companies are known for underpaying for tower sites. Authorities here strongly recommend landowners seek out an attorney with particular expertise in such things. They are expensive, but the payoff can be huge. Everything depends on the alternatives to your location. If you have the only available prime location within a few miles, you will get several times the rent you get on a location similar to others in the area.

 

[kensnelling]

I recommend a lock carousel, a device that will allow you to control who has locks on the gate, plus if one of them leaves the gate open you know which one it was.

Lock carousel is a term I'm not familiar with. Is that an electronic keypad with different access codes for different visitors, or something else entirely?

Ken

 

[TCJatko]

Around here the tower companies are known for underpaying for tower sites. Authorities here strongly recommend landowners seek out an attorney with particular expertise in such things. They are expensive, but the payoff can be huge. Everything depends on the alternatives to your location. If you have the only available prime location within a few miles, you will get several times the rent you get on a location similar to others in the area.

This is sound advice. I am fortunate to have a cell tower on some vacant property I own; it's like having your own money tree. My attorney negotiated a portion of carrier lease payments in addition to the basic fee for leasing land. Best $175 I ever spent.

 

[greasemonkeyok]

It allows the gate to be opened by unlocking any one of the multiple padlocks. If one of the locks is opened and the gate is not re-locked, you know who the culprit is.

 

[Pops15]

That would be useful information if we also knew the topography, and proximity to customers. $1,400.00 per month in the center of a densely populated area, near a truck stop on an interstate, is not a particularly good rate for the landowner. Ten miles from town on a farm to market road in a sparsely populated area, that rate is outstanding.

30-40 miles from Chicago. Just outside of a the densely populated area on a state highway several miles from an interstate. He did his homework and got an outstanding deal on the 1st tower. The $800 on the 2nd one better reflects the going rate in the area.

 

[aczlan]

Some other pictures and commentary on a similar system: Schneier on Security: Shared Lock

Aaron Z