"HELP".......They want to but a CELL Tower on my property

[Sourdough]

So today I got a request to lease to a company, space to build a Cell Phone Tower.

Is this a wonderful thing.....or does this super-duper suck. Are these this dangerous, do they cause medical problems....???

Should I run away.....or thunk about it a wee bit........???

 

[Caribou]

I'd make sure it wasn't 5G and I'd have it in writing. Also unlimited data and a couple of lines for as long as the tower is operating.

 

[Sentry18]

I have not heard of health issues for those with standard towers on their land, but I would want to avoid 5G. Although there would be a lot of dead birds around you could pick up and potentially eat.

 

[SheepDog]

Just ask them if it is safe... Then ask if they will cover any medical expenses in the future.
Do you get free access and are they willing to do an annual lease?
They will walk away mumbling something about hats and tin foil.

 

[Caribou]

Or you could hook a clothesline up to the tower, pull your food up till it is warm, then reel it back and dinner is served.

 

[SheepDog]

Once the tower is up, it WILL be fitted with 5G.

 

[dademoss]

No up on current cell equipment, but unless it's an offer your heirs would like, I would pass

 

[The Lazy L]

Wording in the contract?
Double the price of their first offer?

 

[SheepDog]

Either way get a lawyer on your side. You can bet they have 20 on their side.

 

[phideaux]

Easement and access ?

Jim

 

[Sourdough]

Easement and access ?

Jim

I don't know all I did was Speed read the cover letter.

 

[Meerkat]

Lots of good advice imo.

If it was me I'd not just say but hell no! But I'm a skeptic of the smart meters and 5G
We are paying them extra not to haave smart meter but suspicious they have have pulled a fst one on us. They said its a " digital ,not smart meter, they look the same to me.

 

[AdmiralD7S]

Be aware that leasing a tower can affect your property's value and thus your property tax. I have heard (i.e., this is 2nd hand information) of folks paying more in tax increases than they earned from the lease.

You'll have to make up your own mind about health issues of 5G. Around a year ago, that topic came up on this forum. For better or worse, a consensus was formed based (almost) exclusively on non-scientific sources.

Others have already mentioned the duration of a lease, the easements/right of ways, the potential connectivity benefits, etc. I definitely would get a lawyer's take on the situation.

 

[phideaux]

Excuse my interuption just for a second.
But
It's great to see @AdmiralD7S back on , and posting.

Sorry

Ok carry on.

The lawyer idea sounds like a good idea.

Jim

 

[backlash]

My cousin had a cell tower put on her place in Pennsylvania. They paid her $5 a day to look out her window every night and make sure the light on the tower was on. That was in addition to the lease. She was supposed to call if the light wasn't on. In the 10 years, she lived there it was never out.
Cable TV company put a tower on a friend's place and they told him he would get all the TV channels and unlimited high-speed internet free. He agreed and they put it up. He couldn't get them to come back and connect him so after several weeks and calls he just turned off their power. They were there within the hour and hooked him up.

 

[dademoss]

Lots of good advice imo.

If it was me I'd not just say but hell no! But I'm a skeptic of the smart meters and 5G
We are paying them extra not to haave smart meter but suspicious they have have pulled a fst one on us. They said its a " digital ,not smart meter, they look the same to me.

Dear Meerkat, my smartmeter told me to tell you it was ok to have a smartmeter.

Just kidding

 

[Spikedriver]

We are looking at something akin to this on my dad's farm, but with wind generators. We (my parents, siblings, and I) signed the precursor to leasing the land. Basically it gives the power company the right to lease the land if they choose to build, and it sets the price, which is not insignificant. It's about 5k per windmill per year, plus additional money depending on power production. I don't really like the idea of seeing these things on the land, but financially it made sense. I really don't think I can give you an answer for what's best in your situation. Perhaps you should speak with some people who have had towers put up on their land before making any decisions...

 

[Sparky_D]

If easement is required, find out who has to maintain it.

When cell phones first started getting popular back in the late 80's, an old friend of mine agreed to allow a local start up wireless company to put a tower on his rural property, but made sure the maintenance of the easement fell to the company in question. He slowly transitioned his driveway to the new easement. 15 years (the length of the lease) without having to maintain his driveway worked well for him, lol.

Also, about 4 years in, the local company got bought out by one of the big national services and had to assume the lease. They stopped using the tower after another 3 or 4 years, but still had to maintain the easement.

 

[zannej]

I think it also depends on where on the property they want to put it and what sort of access they will want for it & if they want to go places in your yard where you don't want them going.

Read the fine print. I also agree that consulting a lawyer would be a good idea.

I almost wish they would set up a tower on my property out in the back pasture just so I could actually get cell signal out here-- but I'm pretty sure they'd end up ripping me off anyway.

If they ever did it, I'd insist that they have to maintain the area around it & that they have to give me unlimited data & no cap on the speeds permanently either for free or at a set price & no upgrading of phones will change it. AT&T is bad about undoing discount deals if you upgrade your phone.

 

[zoomzoom]

A friend of mine is in final negotiations for a cell tower at his place.
The lease total amount (paid in monthly increments) is over $300,000.

 

[Morgan101]

Sourdough: Who cares about free access. You don't call anybody anyway. Tell them you want $5 Million. What will they have to do (damage to your property) to build it? How often and how many does it take to maintain it?

Spikedriver: JMHO but I would not want wind turbines on my property. I'm sure you will do your due diligence, but check into noise pollution. They will kill thousands of birds. I would question the safety. They have an enormous footprint. Just some things to think about.

 

[Tortminder]

Dear Meerkat, my smartmeter told me to tell you it was ok to have a smartmeter.

Just kidding

I asked Alexa and after she stopped laughing hysterically she choke out; "yeah, sure, go ahead."

 

[The Lazy L]

.... They will kill thousands of birds....

Each windmill kills thousands of birds?

 

[Morgan101]

Each windmill kills thousands of birds?

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-many-birds-do-wind-turbines-really-kill-180948154/
I didn't make it up. Honest.

 

[Spikedriver]

Sourdough: Who cares about free access. You don't call anybody anyway. Tell them you want $5 Million. What will they have to do (damage to your property) to build it? How often and how many does it take to maintain it?

Spikedriver: JMHO but I would not want wind turbines on my property. I'm sure you will do your due diligence, but check into noise pollution. They will kill thousands of birds. I would question the safety. They have an enormous footprint. Just some things to think about.

They're everywhere around my area. We're talking hundreds and hundreds of them. They haven't had any negative impact so far in the 15 years since they started putting them up. They don't kill birds - I can attest to that. We actually have more birds and wildlife around. I just don't want to see the ugly things where I used to see fields and blue sky...

 

[Meerkat]

A friend of mine is in final negotiations for a cell tower at his place.
The lease total amount (paid in monthly increments) is over $300,000.

Well then maybe these new techtronicks aren't so bad after all.

 

[Caribou]

Each windmill kills thousands of birds?

They're good for the soil.

Not good for my argument but I trust Beck.

 

[Sourdough]

I looked at more of the offer. One time $52,000.-- or $500.00 for twenty years.

 

[SheepDog]

You will lose the use of the land they build on plus an area around it and the easement.
How many acres will they consume? Each Acre is worth $1000 per year. Now add the access of strangers on your land and the added security costs. Make the lease renegotiable each 10 years. As the value of your land goes up so should their costs. Remember that inflation figures do not reflect the value of land.

This is why you need a lawyer.

 

[Zuma]

The advice to consult a lawyer is gold.