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Cell Phone Tower Land Lease Offer - Extra Income or Health Hazard?!!

C

Carl

Member
So...I got a call from a guy who wants to offer $750.00 / month if I'll allow him to lease a 50' x 50' piece of property here at the carwash so that his company can erect a 180' tall cell tower? My first thought was, "No way! I don't want to come to work everyday and get radiated working underneath that thing and develop cancer!" :( So when I told him my concerns, he said that no studies show any health negatives to cell phone towers' radiation in fact, he claims that the radiation from your home TV is even more dangerous than that of a cell phone tower's. :confused: Gonna research this now as he's coming by in the morning. Any experience w/ this topic at all? I know it'd be worth having a lawyer look over any contract to make sure many things such as access to the pad, etc. are written in fairly, etc. Thanks. - Carl
 
You're far more at risk from the tower itself or the people working on/around it than anything else. Get a copy of the contract and read it carefully. It basically says that they can tear your land up all they want and not restore it, they can leave the project half-finished and you're liable for having the unsafe structure taken down, and they're not responsible for any damages or loss of business to you if the tower falls down or they have to block access to your business to erect it.

Chances are nothing will go wrong and you'll get some money for letting them use a section of your lot, just be sure you know what you're getting into.
 
Have control over guy wires and anchors, electric power pole/ lines placement. Find out how often the tower will be powered by a loud generator, where the generator is located & get it in writing. Will there be safety fence to keep
kids from playing on the tower, what will that fence look like.

Our city has regulations on towers and where they may be placed.

Yes, get a lawyer.

Here is a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN_KU4lmgO0&feature=related
 
important to read every word of Contract!

MEP001 - Great insights as to what caution one would need to tread in an opportunity like this one. I appreciate your input! - Carl
 
Read the contract carefully and getting a lawyer is a good idea. I would also check on any liability you might have by leasing out that property. You might also be able to negotiate a better deal as well. These things are not as cut and dried as they make them out to be. The extra money is nice but you need to make sure the tower doesn't become a detriment or eyesore.
 
Etowah
I have a friend that had the opportunity to have one on his land at his home. He is kind of a sorehead and drug his feet, hemmed and hawwed, complaining that he really didn't want to have to look at that damn thing. The phone company just went to his neighbor, who jumped at the opportunity. Now my friend gets to look at the damn thing for free.

I would make sure everything is up to snuff legally, but don't drag your feet. You're going to be looking at it anyway, whether or not you get paid is up to you.
 
I have had a tower on my property for 12 years now. I get a 4% increase every year and receive rent from every provider that puts anything on the tower. The trick is to only lease them enough room for the tower and the companies computers and generators. Say a 12X12 area. Then as the company adds more providers, those companies have to come to you and lease a 12X12 area for their computers and generators. It has worked out great for me. The tower owner gets rent for the tower and I get rent for the land. But I live in an area that regulates cell tower very heavily and they are almost impossible to get built. The tower owner is a pain but I have rules in the contract the expressly state they can not block any access to my car wash or any bays and they most notify me before any construction is to be done. Has at times been frustrating but well worth the hassle.
 
I think you got a good deal with the tower, especially if you could get free service. Those towers only have about 100w total at the top as they are transmitting to phones that only put out 60mw or barely enough to light a couple small LEDs. At that height your own phone gives you more radiation than that tower. IB is right if you don't like the deal you can always look at it down the street for free or -$750 however you look at it.
 
Thanks for the Feedback!

Diana...oh my, that cell phone tower fallover video sure helped me think more as to the potential of things happening like that! No wonder this cell tower rep talked at length about (his claim as to) how his company's tower can supposedly withstand a hurricane. Will due all the research and learn my City's regulations, etc. 50' x 50' sounds a bit too large? Thanks for warning me about that. Interesting, the post about the 12' x 12' lease agreement. Very smart! The tower rep told me of a similar tower located not too far away from my carwash. I'll drive out there in the a.m. to see what these things look like. Saw a YouTube video as to how these can be "disguised" to look like flagpoles, lighthouses, evergreen trees, etc. to take away the "eyesore factor". Lots to discuss w/ this tower rep but like you guys have warned...I can't hem and haw too long before these guys will just move on down the street to hang the carrot over the next landowner's head.

Thanks! - Carl
 
I know a guy who gets nearly 5x that much per month for one. Don't know about the number of providers or anything. He is right by the interstate.
 
Carl,

I have worked for wireless companies for over 20 years. I have maintained the equipment in these location for 8 of those years. First, the video of the tower burning and dropping is an extremely rare case...so I wouldn't even consider it. These things are engineered based on type, height, loading, wind and soil conditions of your location. They are heavily regulated.

Next is the non-ionizing radiation from the tower. Basically, frequencies are reused every seventh cell site, this means that as they infill (add more towers), the output power goes down (as in your case). Also, modulation techniques have changed greatly since cell phones came out. The newest is Wideband CDMA technique (hidden in the noise floor and tightly regulated power consumption) are very low powered and broad frequency. Also, the antennas emit a direction (sector) pattern and would have most of its power outward and not below...so your neighbors down the street are more affected than you...however, with the distance, its a non issue for them either. So no issue there...I have worked with 100 of guys for years in this stuff and NOBODY among us has had cancer related to non-ionizing radiation. I would be far more concerned at the exposure to carwash chemicals that the cell tower.

Finally, $750 sounds low. I get $500 a month for 4'x4' for a bank ATM machine. But it depends on the location, access, etc. Getting free phones use to be common, but now most carriers have sold off the towers and just rent space on and below them. The parcel size required depends on the type of tower they erect (monopole, self-standing or guyed).

If your not using the land, I'd haggle a bit and take it.

Big
 
bigleo48 said:
If your not using the land, I'd haggle a bit and take it.
Click to expand...
When we were approached by a company who wanted to lease a plot of land for a tower, they offered a very low amount. We gave a counter-offer expecting they would eventually meet somewhere in the middle, but they never made contact after that.
 
Etowah
Free legal advice...The cell company will pay for your attorney too! I am an attorney in my spare time when not washing cars. I have negotiated several lease contracts involving cell towers. In each instance, the cell phone company paid my legal fees to represent the lessee.
 
rph9168 said:
Did the leasee hire you or did the cell tower people?
Click to expand...

The lessees hired me each time. Also, in most contracts I have seen the cell company usually pays about $900/month for a 100' x 100' square to lease. That is 4 times as big as the area your cell company is wanting to lease.
 
I have a Verizon tower on my property. It was key to my decision to purchase the car wash. I'm pretty sure they don't need 50 x 50 of your property. Their footprint is much smaller on my property. I would guess that it is around 12 x 16. I was receiving $500 a month five years ago. The lease option renewed a few months later at a 20% increase ($600) and will go up another 20% in May ($720). 20% increase every five years. I have had no problems or inconvenience regarding the lease. There are companies that try to buy the leases. I was offered $50,000 for mine. I assume that once you have a lease, these companies find you. I get a letter from them every month saying they would like to discuss options. If I ever sell the car wash, I have the option of keeping the cell tower lease. I don't see any downside.
 
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