I have land available to lease for cellular tower-any experiences? - Posted by Gary

Posted by Chris on February 04, 2000 at 21:13:01:

Holy Cow-

My grandmother has a house on a hill in Central Illinois. The offer she got as she told me was $300 per month. I’ll have to pass your story along to her.

She told them NO.

-Chris

I have land available to lease for cellular tower-any experiences? - Posted by Gary

Posted by Gary on February 04, 2000 at 14:15:54:

I 've read alot lately about renting land out to cellular and digital phone services so they can build relay towers.

Any experience with this? Any idea what kind of rent I should charge and who do I contact at the phone company?

Any help would be appreciated.

I almost had first hand experience in this… - Posted by NJDave

Posted by NJDave on February 04, 2000 at 19:15:11:

My father owns a piece of wooded land in an exclusive area. It happens to be the highest point around. Bell Atlantic Mobile came a knocking and asked if he was interested in leasing out a portion of land large enough to erect a tower (fashioned like a tree) and a small, fenced, cinderblock (garage sized) auxiliary building. The tower and building would be accessible via an easement. My Dad agreed to let them conduct a test which included their coming with a huge truck and a telescoping antenna. They raised the antenna and tested it’s reception/output, or whatever it was that they check to make sure the location warrants the process. In our town, a use variance would be needed, which Bell Atlantic Mobile would pursue. Anyway, the location passed with flying colors… the highest point between two rivers.

They wanted a 20 year lease with an option of 20 more.
They offered a $10,000 contractual signing bonus, then $20,000 per year, plus prorated property taxes (he pays about $12,000 in taxes for 2.5 acres), plus any additional insurance premiums. Long story short, I negotiated the lease price to include $30,000 per year, plus 5 FREE wireless phones w/unlimited use for the term of the lease… plus a new 300 foot driveway
paved with concrete pavers w/ belgium block curbs.

Bell Atlantic Mobile drew up the Lease Agreement.

Then my Dad got stubborn and decided that he didn’t want a tower in his back yard, even though it would be disguised as a tree. He didn’t care about the $30,000 for 20 years… He passed on the Offer. I cried.

Yes, but more information is needed… - Posted by Randy Holt

Posted by Randy Holt on February 04, 2000 at 14:48:34:

Yes, many property owners have become landlords with cellular and other wireless service providers as their tenants.

The monthly lease amount can vary widely depending on location, regulatory issues, market competition and engineering requirements as well as numerous other technical and market factors.

Has someone already presented you with a lease proposal? If so, be careful and have your attorney check it carefully. You (or your lawyer) should also contact a tower site specialist early in the negotiation process. This will insure that you can maximize your site’s rent and eliminate hidden liabilities specific to tower sites.

I have never seen a lease provided by a cellular or PCS operator that did not have serious flaws needing correction.

I hope that this helps a little, please email me if you’d like more information.

Randy Holt
Signal Tower Communications
http://www.signaltower.com