A significant amount of new Cell Phone Towers were built during the mid 1990’s.  This period was the “Wild West” of the Cell Tower industry and many companies entered into and devised many different Cell Tower Leases.  As a general rule, most of these Cell Site Leases were for a five-year terms and had several five-year options for the Cell Tower companies.  These options always automatically renewed unless the Cell Tower Company decides to vacate the Cell Site.

Many Landowners are currently receiving rents from these initial Cell Site Leases and Cell Tower Leases.  Because these Cellular Leases were negotiated with Cell Phone Tower Companies during the infancy of the Cell Tower business, most are one sided and the Cell Site Owners received very low rents and poor escalations for these cell site leases.  Still, since it was during the infancy of the cellular industry, these older leases have loopholes and don’t take into consideration several current issues.

Now, because these older cell site leases are coming up for expiration, cell tower companies and Wireless Carriers are aggressively trying to resign them to long-term agreements with even stronger terms.  With the expiration of these Cell Site Leases set to expire, Landowners are in a much better position to renegotiate their Cell Site Lease with the Cell Tower Companies.  There are many factors to consider.  The size of your compound, the number of tenants on the tower and the quality of these tenants are just to name a few.   We have handled hundreds of these types of transactions and we help our clients make the right decision renegotiating their Cell Site Lease renewal.

When you are renegotiating your cell site lease, every $10 in rent will amount to Ten’s of Thousands of Dollars over the life of the new cell site lease.  We will eliminate the guesswork and deliver market rates for the best possible deal.  There are many facets to renegotiating a lease and the Cell Tower Companies will try and take advantage of Cell Site Landowners.  They may get you to agree to something that you really don’t understanding and will have long lasting ramifications.

Crown Castle International, American Tower Company and SBA Communications are the largest publicly traded Cell Tower Companies in the USA currently.  There are also other companies like TowerCo, GTP, Mobilitie, Tri-Star, Diamond, and many others.  These companies will approach Leaseholders to buyout their Cell Site Leases or extend the Cell Site Leases for as little money as possible.  Many owners, out of fear of losing their Cell Site Rents, enter these agreements well below current market rates.

Undoubtedly, you will here representatives tell you things like:

“We need to extend the term so we can attract additional carriers to the tower, which will secure your current revenue”.

“Having a short period left on your tower puts you at a disadvantage”

“In order to make the site more competitive, we need to extend your lease”

“ If we lose subtenants due to mergers, acquisitions or because we cannot provide site longevity then we must look to existing, neighboring sites, or develop new sites, none of which are as attractive as staying put, but nonetheless must be considered”

We will analyze the offer and give you the Pros and Cons of entering into these cellular lease agreements.  We will ensure you get the best possible pricing, should you choose to move forward.  Also, we will evaluate offers of additional land easements that sometimes accompany these offers.  All these issues should be carefully analyzed to ensure you make the right decision

In most cases, the Cell Tower Lease or Cell Site Lease has been undervalued for years.  This can make an offer appear to be very attractive at first glance.  Accepting an increase based upon a percent of rent can be costly.  These older Cell Tower Leases and Cell Site Leases represent an excellent opportunity to renegotiate a better and more profitable Cell Site lease. To realize the Cell Sites full value, one must evaluate several factors.  How many tenants?  How much square footage? Who are the tenants?  Where are nearby Cell Towers?  The list goes on and on but this exercise must be completed in order to receive a fair agreement for the Cell Tower Company.  We have the ability to determine the fair market rents and answer all the important questions surrounding your Cell Site.

Contact us for a free consultation before you enter any new Cell Tower Lease or Cell Site Lease Agreement.

Crown Castle, American Tower, SBA, TowerCo, Global Tower Partners, Mobilite, Tri-Star Investors and Diamond Communications are trademarks of Crown Castle International, American Tower Company, SBA Communications, TowerCo, Mobilite Partners, Tri-Star Investors and Diamond Communications.  We are in no way affiliated with these companies.