Cell Tower Lease

[Tractor Seabee]

My church has been solicited by a tower broker to build a cell tower on our land. They then sub-let to various cell services.

Anyone in out there in TBN land have any experience with such leases?

What are the Pros and Cons?

Do they normally try to scam low ball rates and fees to catch the unwary like some have had with oil and gas line leases?

Any ideas on what the going negotiated monthly lease payments might be?

Thanks for any good info. I am on the board but the others are pretty much not business oriented.

Ron

 

[2458n]

I worked on both cranes and drill rigs that poured the concrete bases for towers. Great business. Was money for everyone. The bases that are box like can get hit with falling ice coming off the towers. The roof is usually 12 inches thick concrete. Location is important. The industry has changed with everything getting smaller and piggy backing different business on one tower. Great return- you need a lawyer.

 

[Redneck in training]

I heard a story about a guy who bought all guard towers between Czech republic and Austria and Germany. There were hundreds of them built. Now he leases them to mobil phone companies in all three countries. The lower platform is open to public. The very top platform containing the equipment is locked.


This one is about 150 ft tall.


I and wife on the top.

 

[r porter]

lawyer up, you can not possibly think of all that can go wrong with a lease.

consider what happens if they decide to walk away and leave you with a tower you have to keep up [ paint, maintain lights, etc] or dismantle.

i have seen them do just that.

 

[PJSprog]

No tower experiences, but we were approached a few years ago by a company wanting to drill for oil. After talking with neighbors around the area who did it, and hearing the stories of access roads, property damage, and garbage left behind (capped wells and concrete pads), we decided to say no. Turns out no one made a dime off of those "deals," and actually ended up spending their own money and time to clean up and reclaim their sections of field when the wells were abandoned.

As someone else already noted, get a lawyer to interpret everything for you.

 

[NorTracNY]

As the others have said, you need an attorney to review any contract of this nature. You need to consider lease length, escrow of removal cost, monthly income, yearly percentage increase, when do payments start, will payment be based upon number of services on the tower, amount of property used, access to tower, liability, permit, taxes. I do not know what the amount would be as I'm sure it varies. I do know it should be well over $1K/month. I am aware of one person with a tower and it has worked out very well for them. No problems, but the number of offers to buy the tower lease for one price occur all the time. Lot's of companies looking to cash in on people unable to understand the time value of money.

 

[bigtiller]

We have had one on our ground for several years. By the time the first guy knocks on your door, the phone company has already done the research to find the most advantages spot -within yards- for a tower. But, they could easily go 1/2 a mile down the road also. There is still a lot of inspection to do before things start getting serious. They probably will make an offer early on, but this price may be slightly negotiable. They will eventually send you a contract to read over. Feel free to suggest a few minor changes, they will accommodate.

The pros.... a monthly check automatically deposited into your savings account.... for life, and it is transferable to your beneficiary.
If it is tall enough, there will be a flashing red light on top, It helps to find your way home occasionally.

The cons.... I haven't found one yet.

 

[JD5210]

Cell towers come in all shapes, sizes and heights. Find this out as well as the foot print size. The will also need a small building for power. Find out how they will get to connectivity, will fiber be pulled in or will the signal come from another tower. If your county requires any permits, who will pay for the permits and permit process. Also any requirements, such as fencing, screening ie plants bushes. If the tower is no longer used down the road, is there a requirement that it be taken down. Who will pay the property taxes on the tower. The will want access to the tower.

Most likely in the end you will need a lawyer, but get a copy of the contract, dollar range, talk with your county office, often they can provide you with a lot of info. Do your checking on the contactor.

 

[Argonne]

The pros.... a monthly check automatically deposited into your savings account.... for life, and it is transferable to your beneficiary. If it is tall enough, there will be a flashing red light on top, It helps to find your way home occasionally.

The cons.... I haven't found one yet.

I have a 330' tower on my property. Another pro...there is no better lightning protection, and the big BOOMS when it gets hit are entertaining.

 

[k0ua]

lawyer up, you can not possibly think of all that can go wrong with a lease.

consider what happens if they decide to walk away and leave you with a tower you have to keep up [ paint, maintain lights, etc] or dismantle.

i have seen them do just that.

Man o Man, if someone abandoned a big tower on my property I would be one happy camper. I would hang a bunch of antennas on that thing...Whoo-Hoo. Of course I love towers and antennas.