Pros and Cons of allowing Cell Tower on Property?

[2manyrocks]

50k for sewer hookup in a rural area sounds like they don't have a lot of homeowners to spread the cost around for running the sewer line...or does some friend of a friend of a friend have a lucrative installation contract?

 

[ericm979]

Buddy of mine in CA has had enough and he has his house for sale in Pleasanton. It's 1,700 square feet, on a 7,000 square foot lot, for $1.7 million. It's nice enough, but nothing special. I just can't imagine why anybody would spend that much money for it. Then what will the property taxes be?

https://conniecox.legacyrea.com/details.php?mls=106&mlsid=41001660

If it sells for that price taxes will be about 13,700 a year according to zillow. A big jump from the current 3700.

California's prop 9 from 1976 put a limit on tax increases as long as the property does not change hands. It was sold as letting granny stay in her house but it also has the effects of pushing the tax burden onto new younger home owners and from corporations (who sell less often) onto homeowners.

Pleasanton's got a nice small town downtown. There's a lot of employers moving into that area and it's within commuting distance of Silicon Valley and even San Francisco if you don't have to go in every day. I know a number of people who have left in the last few years but there's a lot of people who want to come here to work high paying jobs. Yes having a housing market with prices so high makes for a lot of problems, but that's what it is.

 

[dodge man]

It’s all area dependent on how things are taxed on your property. If you get a new truck and park it at home, your property taxes don’t go up. Some places treat something like a cell tower that way. Other places raise your property taxes.

I have a cell tower about a mile from my house. It’s pretty unobtrusive. The access road is about 10 feet wide and the footprint is minimal. I also know someone who has one on his property which is commercial property. He calls it his oil well.

 

[NorTracNY]

Great income. Make sure the compensation has an increase every year, otherwise the time value of money will make you nothing of value. Get an attorney as you're talking about millions of dollars over the lifetime. The downside will be the number of companies that will continually try to buy out your lease.

 

[ultrarunner]

So it would be a 400 square feet area and a 50' fake tree tower.

5 year term with four 5 year renewal options with 2% annual rent increase... total lease term with all options is 25.

Access on perimeter farm road and gravel purchased and spread as needed for all weather access...

More to follow.

 

[ultrarunner]

It should qualify for Wilson act protection.

It doesn't... tried to go that way and county has minimum acre for new addition.

A friend in Alameda has quite a nice setup on less land but different county... old home, 10,000 square feet first class AG barn and average under $1000 per year prop tax.

 

[TheMan419]

As others have mentioned, he should consult an attorney and definitely address the decommissioning issues. If the company pulls out, leaves, stops using it, etc, who’s responsible for the tower?

I used to know the guy that owned this tower company.

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Did a bit of business with him at my old job to rent tower space to get internet across the state line wirelessly to avoid paying tariffs had we used land lines.

He owned a dozen or so towers, and rented to cell phone companies, businesses, governments, etc.

So is the entity approaching your brother a cell phone company that will only have their equipment on site, or someone that just rents tower space to whomever needs it?

I know him as well..... it was more than a dozen towers if I recall.... he did QUITE well when selling the business to someone larger in the industry.

 

[IndyJay]

Oof, I wouldn't do it. The income might sound nice, but unless you lawyer up first, it might end up a free pass for them to build a wide road to the large tower site and utilities going in any direction they want.

Unless you're talking about 250+ acres and it can be close to a mile from your relative's house. The increased radiation is likely measureable.

Also, he may have to move once his neighbors catch wind of it...

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Check into tax aspect also. County might tax the land different, be sure tower company responsible for tax increase.

Might not be able to build under it.

$2500 today is a lot less than $2500 1 yr ago, include a yearly increase.

You will get hounded by companies, some very unethical, about buying the revenue stream.

 

[bigtiller]

Check into tax aspect also. County might tax the land different, be sure tower company responsible for tax increase.

Might not be able to build under it.

$2500 today is a lot less than $2500 1 yr ago, include a yearly increase.

You will get hounded by companies, some very unethical, about buying the revenue stream.

Cell towers are built to collapse onto them selves. But it is a good idea to not build within its radius just incase.

 

[MossRoad]

I know him as well..... it was more than a dozen towers if I recall.... he did QUITE well when selling the business to someone larger in the industry.

Nice!

He had a tower behind the fire station on Darden Rd. up in Clay Township. We had an antenna up 100’ in the tower and a little radio in a tiny cage in the building below. We ran some phone and data lines over a T1 to that building, converted them to wireless, shot a signal over the state line to an antenna on one of our distribution warehouses just across the state line in Michigan. That bypassed tariffs for running physical wires across state lines. Then ran a T1 from there to the office in downtown Niles. Then a few phone lines were installed in a gas station restroom in Berrien Springs for voice and data. Two of those had call forwarding to St. Joe. One had call forwarding to Niles. It was long distance from Niles to St. Joe. But local from Niles to Berrien Springs and local from Berrien Springs to St. Joe.

So. If someone in South Bend wanted to call the office in St. Joe, the call went:
South Bend to Austen Rd via T1.
Radio to Niles warehouse.
T1 from warehouse to Downtown Niles.
Land line from DT Niles to gas station in Berrien Springs.
Land line from BS to St. Joe.
Hello? Yes. It‘s nice at the beach today!

We did similar call forwarding schemes from SB through a gas station in Lakeville to get voice and data to Plymouth without long distance. And from South Bend to a gas station in Osceola to Elkhart!

Crazy stuff back then, but it was well worth the cost savings VS long distance calls, which are virtually free today with cell phones.

Charlie had a tower down south of the Jail in SB that an acquaintance used to run a line of sight link from Niles to there. And he had a tower over off of the curve by the Eddy St./Sample St. bridge. I can’t remember why we were meeting with him over there, but apparently we were using it for something. Maybe his office was over there at that time?

That tower was built on the sight of the old Franklin Elementary School after it was torn down. That’s the first public school that my mom taught at in SB schools when I was a kid. She was in a prefab out behind the school, kept the door locked and a hammer over the door. If someone knocked on the door, she’d reach up, grab the hammer, then open the door. The janitor had a gun in his cart, all the teachers knew it, and they were happy about it!

Ahh. Fun times.

 

[ponytug]

You have so many interesting stories...

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Cell towers are built to collapse onto them selves. But it is a good idea to not build within its radius just incase.

a monopole?
I bring it up because our church bought a lot with an existing tower, and our county suddenly decided we could not build within the radius. Even though they let new towers be built with buildings in the radius.

 

[MossRoad]

You have so many interesting stories...

Thanks. Anytime someone mentions something, it seems to trigger memories.

What amazes me is how much “stuff” a human brain can hold, and what triggers the brain to bring that stuff out of deep memory.

 

[MossRoad]

a monopole?
I bring it up because our church bought a lot with an existing tower, and our county suddenly decided we could not build within the radius. Even though they let new towers be built with buildings in the radius.

Poles fall over. Towers collapse.

(I just made that up ).

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Poles fall over. Towers collapse.

(I just made that up ).

That was my point.

The tower on our property was first owned by T mobile. They did very little maintenance, the area and fence was grown over with brush and vines, almost looked abandoned. They sold the tower to one of the tower companies, who cleaned everything up nice.

The revenue stream was sold before we bought the property, but that contract is up in a few years. We have already had people trying to buy future leasing rights. Obviously there is money in it above the “normal” lease rate.

 

[LD1]

As far as the tower proximity, location, radiation, health hazards, eyesore, etc etc....I think its all a moot point because it sounds as if there is gonna be a tower close regardless.

So the only issue I see is do you cash in on the $750k in payments or let one of the surrounding property owners do so.

For me its a no brainer.....cash in cause your getting a tower regardless in that area. Might as well be the one to benefit right?

So that just leaves the legal aspect and dotting all the I's and crossing all the Tee's so you dont get screwed later. And I dont think anyone on this forum is gonna be able to do you justice. It would be money well spent on an attorney specializing in utility/cell tower leases and ROW's

 

[Midniteoyl]

So it would be a 400 square feet area and a 50' fake tree tower.

5 year term with four 5 year renewal options with 2% annual rent increase... total lease term with all options is 25.

Access on perimeter farm road and gravel purchased and spread as needed for all weather access...

More to follow.

I would make that actual COLA increases, at least, if not more. If this was 3 yrs ago, 2% would be nothing compared to the 8%+ COLA nowadays. Something like a +% over that years COLA with a minimum % specified regardless.

 

[ultrarunner]

Will see if a formal offer presented...

The above is from site visit with follow up email.

Brother's site is not the first choice... he knows the family that is first choice and they say they are not interested.

Funny thing about rent escalators... in my city rent has been frozen and now going forward the new number is 1/2 of CPI...

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

I didn't read every reply but make sure you consider impact on property value if you sell.

In the cities their are 5g antennas popping up on a roof on every block it seems.
Rural though I know it will turn off alot of people if a tower is present but the $2,500/month will turn a lot of people positive as well. All depends I guess on need vs. want of the money.

We all want money but not everyone wants a tower close by for lots of reasons some real and some perceived.