Revenue and Control: It’s about a word here; a comma there; and some common sense thrown in for good measure.
Most private and government landlords approached by a wireless carrier proposing to lease some property for a new cell site will be faced with the same daunting document: the Lease Option/Lease Agreement offered by the carrier’s representative.
The first question you have to ask yourself is the same question Harry Callahan asked: “…you’ve got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?” *
Why? Because all cell site leases written by cell phone companies (really, their attorneys) share some very predictable similarities:
- The document gives all of the major rights to the wireless carrier;
- The document makes it virtually impossible for the landlord to get out of the agreement for 25+ years;
- The document makes it very easy for the wireless carrier to terminate the lease (usually on just 30 days notice);
- The initial financial terms offered to the landlord are likely to be inadequate;
- Oblique and seemingly innocuous terms will be deeply embedded that will allow the carrier to exert substantial control over the development of the rest of the property.
- A common term that looks like a benefit to a landlord can turn out to effectively prevent the sale of the landlord’s property to others.
- A typical provision will allow the wireless carrier to occupy with land without paying rent, all at the carrier’s sole discretion.
If you’re not expert at defusing with these ‘landmine provisions’ let us help you avoid being blow-up by a bad deal that only looked like a good deal!
We defuse wireless lease land mines, so you don’t have to. We’re really good at this.
Some examples of successes we have achieved for our cell tower clients:
- Increased the total lease payments for a client by nearly $60,000 by changing just one key term
- Blocked a well-hidden land-grab by a wireless tower company that would have deprived our client of the full use of portions of his land beyond the cell site leasehold
- Generated $1,000 per month in new revenues for a client without increasing the leasehold area of the existing cell site
- Assisted a land management firm to maximize future revenue potential for one of their clients selling a wireless lease to a third party.
Want to find out how we can help protect your revenue, and your revenue control? It’s easy, and it’s free for the initial consultation. Even the call is free…855-Cell-Site.
* The quote is from the movie, “Dirty Harry” (1971), but you already knew that, didn’t you!