The largest cell phone tower company in the United States owns, operates, or manages 144,000 towers. It’s not a big name like AT&T or T-Mobile, either. Instead, it’s a little-known company called American Tower.
American Tower may not have much brand recognition, but they’re raking in billions of dollars in cell tower revenue per year. Crown Castle and SBA Communications are two other big names in the cell tower management business.
You should care about these names because they might contact you to make a deal. If they want to put a cell phone tower on your property, you should make sure you’re getting the best possible terms for your cellular phone tower lease.
Read on to find out more about how to negotiate cell tower lease rates.
A Cellular Phone Tower Lease and Your Property
You may rely on your cell phone a lot, but that doesn’t mean you have to give a cell phone tower company a sweetheart deal. If anything, that’s all the more reason for you to push a little harder for favorable tower leasing terms.
Sure, a cell phone tower in your backyard might give you better reception, but cell phone towers aren’t exactly pretty. Even concealing them and trying to make them look like something else can backfire. In fact, cell towers disguised as trees often look like something out of a science-fiction movie.
You deserve fair compensation for any cell tower placed on your property. After all, you could be using that property for something else.
Finding a Fair Rate
Looking at cell tower lease rates of 2017 is helping for figuring out possible rates for 2018 and 2019. However, it’s not the only piece of the puzzle.
Do you live in a heavily populated area? If so, then there’s going to be more demand for new cell towers. That means you can get more money.
But what if you live in the middle of the country? In that case, the cell phone tower company might have more options. If you say no, they can ask your neighbor.
In rural areas, there’s plenty of land for placing towers. There’s also plenty of property owners who would be happy to make a deal.
However, cell towers can’t go anywhere. A major roadway, for one thing, makes for a good cell tower location.
Cell phone tower companies don’t place a tower and then forget about it. If the tower needs maintenance, they need to be able to access it without driving twenty miles down a dirt road.
Zoning laws also play an important role. There are usually fewer zoning restrictions outside city limits. If you live right outside the city limits sign, then your real estate could be a more desirable place for a tower.
Tower Leasing Expertise
A cellular phone tower lease can get complicated even if you know what you’re doing. If you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s that much easier to get overwhelmed by details.
That’s where we enter the picture. We offer free consultations to landlords and homeowners.
We can help you negotiate a lease buyout or other cell tower contract, so contact us today.