Churches and other Non-Profits Cell Sites and Cell Towers
With the huge explosion in the use of Cell Phones, Wireless Carriers are seeking out all alternatives to provide coverage. Churches, Synagogues, Schools and other Non-Profit organizations offer a good solution. These organizations are usually looking for additional revenue and the Cell Phone Tower Companies and Wireless Carrier are more than willing to provide it.
In addition, these Cell Phone Companies can avoid costly zoning hearings and neighborhood upheavals. Locating cell sites and cell antennas in existing church steeples does just that. In most cases the site acquisition manager will approach the Church or Non-profit as a “goodwill ambassador”, stating that they like to do business with Non-profits. This is almost never the case.
These installations are usually more costly and more restrictive to the Wireless Carries. ComServe has assisted many Non-profit organizations. We understand the workings of boards and trustees. We have the ability to help guide the organization through this complex process and deliver optimal results. The organization will get a fair market value for the Cell Site Lease or Cell Tower Lease.
Please contact us before you enter any new Cell Tower Lease or Cell Site Lease Agreement.
Rent Reduction and Rent Optimization – Black Dot & MD7
Clients will receive rent reduction letters offering guaranteed rents for a reduction in the monthly rent or a Lump Sum payment. Leaseholders of AT&T Wireless, Cingular, Sprint, Nextel and T-mobile Cell Tower Leases may have received one of these letters. These Cell Tower Companies have engaged independent contractors like Black Dot Wireless and MD7 International to reduce their costs for them.
These programs are called rent reduction programs and lease optimization programs. Many Leaseholder fear losing their Cell Phone Tower and accept these new lease terms.
Also, you most likely will receive an offer for a one-time Lump Sum payment for Cell Site Lease. These offers are usually very low and are suspect. Contact us immediately; we can save you from making a major error. Remember, these are independent companies contracted by the Wireless Carriers. They are in the business of making money from your lack of knowledge.
ComServe can help you renegotiate your cell site lease. We have experience dealing with Black Dot and MD7 and will assess your risk of losing your Cellular Tower Lease or Cellular Site Lease. Most Cell Site Owners have no way of knowing if their Cell Site is at risk of being “redundant” nor are they prepared to deal with the sales tactics used to entice Cell Site Owners to comply.
With the mergers of AT&T & Cingular and Sprint & Nextel, there is a real risk of duplicate sites. Many Cell Sites were eliminated. It has been years since these mergers and they still have overlapping sites. We will help you determine if a real redundancy risk exists and negotiate the best results for you regarding your cell site. You will gain the knowledge from ComServe to make an informed decision regarding your Cell Tower Lease. We cannot guarantee your cell site will not be terminated but we will evaluate the risk of your cell site terminating.
Please contact us before you enter any new Cell Tower Lease or Cell Site Lease Agreement.
AT&T, Cingular, Sprint, Nextel T-Mobile are registered trademarks of AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless, Nextel, Sprint PCS and T-Mobile USA, Inc. Black Dot and MD7 are registered trademarks of MD7 International and Black Dot Wireless respectively. ComServe has no affiliation with any of these companies.
Cell Tower Lease Buyouts and Cell Site Lease Buyouts
Finance Companies Like WCP, Unison and CCG have entered the cell tower lease buyout industry. They purchase the cash flow from the cellular lease at a discount. Cell Tower Companies like Crown Castle, American Tower, SBA, TowerCo, Mobilite, Tri-Star and Diamond will contact owners as well. All these deals are usually centered on a one-time Lump Sum Payment for the control of Cell Sites over an extended period or a perpetual easement. Cell Site Lease owners are giving up all rights to collect all future rent payments to these Cell Tower Companies in exchange for receiving the one-time payment. The structure of these deals can gain control of your cell tower lease and a successor lease if not reviewed.
These companies will try many different tactics in order to get you to enter an LOI or Option to purchase a Cell Tower Lease agreement. Their sales forces may try to intimidate you by telling you about, “cell tower obsolescence risk”, “ cell site consolidation and merger risk”, and “upside potential” of partnering with their company. They also will tell you they can “market” your cell site for you and split any new revenue.
If you wish to sell your Cell Tower Lease, we can help you maximize your payout. These companies are willing to pay a sizable amount of funds for Cell Site Lease but will always purchase at the lowest possible price. Many site have sold for Tens of Thousands of Dollars below Market Value because the Leaseholder did not have proper representation. You may want to sell your Cell Tower Lease but you want fair market value. ComServe will help you get the market rate for your cell site.
In some cases, the Leaseholder may want to sell due to the mergers of AT&T and Cingular or Sprint and Nextel. Even though these companies have merged, they are still in the process of eliminating Cell Towers. Most lenders will not allow the site owner to use the Cell Tower as collateral. We can supply you with the proper guidance to make right decisions regarding your cell tower lease.
Please contact us before you enter any new Cell Tower Lease or Cell Site Lease Agreement.
AT&T, Cingular, Sprint and Nextel are registered trademarks of AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless, Nextel and Sprint PCS. WCP, Unison, CCG Crown Castle, American Tower, SBA, TowerCo, Mobilite, Tri-Star and Diamond are trademarks of Wireless Capital Partners, Unison Site Management, Communications Capital Group, Crown Castle International, American Tower Company, SBA Communications, TowerCo, Mobilite Partners, Tri-Star Investors and Diamond Communications. Comserve is in not way affiliated with these companies.
Giving up additional Land or Space with a Buyout
Many times, the purchasing Cell Tower Company or Finance Company will ask for additional Land or Space. Recently, this “tactic” has been used to entice Cell Tower and Cell Site Leaseholder to sell their rights. This extra land or space is sometimes presented as an “Ease Flex” and promises great upside potential. You may receive a promise of 50/50 revenue share along with the promise to market your Cell Site for you to get this revenue. These promises should be addressed carefully.
Unison has utilized this “tactic” with great success. We have dealt with this issue numerous times and can tell you the probability of you ever receiving additional revenues from your Cell Site or Cell Tower Lease. We can also explain fully how this program really works. If you have been offered an agreement in which you are giving up additional land, you should contact us.
Please contact us before you enter any new Cell Tower Lease or Cell Site Lease Agreement.
Unison and Ease Flex are trademarks of Unison Site Management. ComServe has no affiliation with Unison Site Management.
Cell Tower Lease Renegotiations and Cell Site Lease Renegotiations
After congress passed the Telecommunications Act of 1996, there was a great amount of building new Cell Phone Towers. 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 not to.
Many Landowners are currently receiving rents from these Cell Site Leases and Cell Tower Leases written during that period. 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 negotiated a low rent for the cell site lease.
Now, 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. Comserve can help you make the right decision renegotiating your cell site lease.
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 the best possible deal for you. There are many facets to renegotiating a lease and the Cell Tower Companies may try to “slip” something by you. They may get you to agree to something that you really don’t understanding and could have lasting ramifications.
Crown Castle, American Tower and SBA are the largest list of Cell Tower Companies in the US currently. There are also other companies like TowerCo, Mobilitie, 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, due to fear of losing their Cell Site Lease, enter these agreements and leave large amounts of money on the table.
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. These Cell Towers represent an excellent opportunity to renegotiate a better and more profitable lease. Situations where there are many tenants on the tower are likely to be excellent opportunities to renegotiate. ComServe has the ability to determine the “real” revenue on your cell site and get the best deal for you.
Please contact us before you enter any new Cell Tower Lease or Cell Site Lease Agreement.
Crown Castle, American Tower, SBA, TowerCo, Mobilite, Tri-Star and Diamond are trademarks of Crown Castle International, American Tower Company, SBA Communications, TowerCo, Mobilite Partners, Tri-Star Investors and Diamond Communications. Comserve is in not way affiliated with these companies.
Crown Castle, American Tower and SBA Lease Negotiations
These companies are publicly traded and all them actively buyout the Cell Tower Leases or extend the Cell Tower Leases. They engage in these activities to effectively tie up the property to ensure long-term profits for shareholders. They also avoid having to negotiate with a finance company that has purchased the Cell Tower Lease. They will have a laundry list of items they want to put into all new leases.
They will attempt to get:
- Extra space around the compound area
- Get a ROFR (right of first refusal)
- Change you current escalation to CPI with a cap
- Long-term extensions 30 to 99 years with little or not benefit to Landowner
- An extension for zero fees
- A (LOI) with no cancelation date
ComServe has been through these negotiations numerous times and will help you make the right decision(s). It is almost impossible for an individual Cell Tower Lease Owner to negotiate favorable terms themselves. We will provide you with the latest industry data to compare offers and provide you data on the real revenue currently being received from your site.
The decisions you make today will have a lasting effect on your organization. This is an important negotiation and should not be taken lightly. In addition, these companies are not “your friend” or will “do the right thing” just because they have been paying you rent all these years. In most cases, your rent is far below market rent and should not even be a factor in negotiating a new fair market rent.
Please contact us before you enter any new Cell Tower Lease or Cell Site Lease Agreement.
Crown Castle, American Tower and SBA are trademarks of Crown Castle International, American Tower Company, SBA Communications. Comserve is in not way affiliated with these companies.
Finance Company Buyout offers - WCP, Unison & CCG
If you own a cell tower, it is very likely you have been approached by a finance company with a buyout offer. These companies have created a market that gives owners the option much like the lottery. Do you want the annuity stream or the one-time Lump Sum Payment? This service can be useful and finance companies will give you many reasons to take advantage of their program. The issue is, “are you getting a fair deal”? Almost all Cell Site Owners have no way of evaluating the offers. If you should decide to sell your Cell Tower Lease or Cell Site Lease, we will help you obtain the maximum offer. This is not as simple as taking bids from different companies. Don’t leave thousands of dollars on the table. Call US.
In addition, you may receive promises of additional revenue and marketing promises for your Cell Site. While these promises may have appeal, they too must also be carefully scrutinized.
Please contact us before you enter any new Cell Tower Lease or Cell Site Lease Agreement.
Unison, WCP and CCG are trademarks of Unison Site Management, Wireless Capital Partners and Communications Capital Group. ComServe has no affiliation with these companies.
Rooftop & Steeple Cell Site Evaluation and Audits
Why perform a rooftop or Steeple Audit and evaluation? Many times the Landlord is not receiving proper rents and or the equipment on the rooftop/Steeple falls outside the lease parameters. Most owners are not prepared to perform such analysis nor have the time to do so. ComServe can provide this service and determine if you are receiving the proper rents for your rooftop cell site lease.
During our audit, we will compare what is actually on your rooftop/Steeple versus what the cell site lease stipulates. Moving forward, you will have a better understanding of what is on your rooftop and what should be on your rooftop. Until you have this service performed, you will not know if you should be receiving additional rents do to infractions within your lease agreement(s). A tenant who is not paying the correct rent occurs but the only way you will find out is to have an audit performed.
Please contact us before you enter any new Cell Tower Lease or Cell Site Lease Agreement.
Rooftop & Steeple Cell Site Lease Buyouts
Finance Companies and Cell Site Management companies will approach you with offers to buyout your Rooftop/Steeple Cell Site Lease(s). They purchase the cash flow at a discount on the current cellular lease in place. All these deals are usually centered on one-time Lump Sum Payments for the control of the Cell Sites over an extended period or a perpetual easement. Rooftop/Steeple Cell Site Lease owners are giving up rights to collect future rent payments to these Cell Tower Companies in exchange for receiving the one-time payment. This deal can also be structured in several ways to gain control of your cell Site lease and a successor lease.
You may also be giving up rights that you don’t have to give up. They may want the entire rooftop when it is not necessary. This is more complex than an ordinary Cell Tower Lease Buyout and needs special attention. If you wish to sell your Rooftop/Steeple Cell Site Lease, we can help you maximize your payout. Many Cell Site Leases have sold for Tens of Thousands of Dollars below Market Value because the Owners did not have proper representation. You may want to sell your Rooftop/Steeple Cell Site Lease but you want fair market value. ComServe will help you get the market rate for your cell site Lease.
Please contact us before you enter any new Cell Tower Lease or Cell Site Lease Agreement.
Giving up additional Space or entire Rooftop/Steeple with Buyout
Many times, the purchasing Cell Tower Company or Finance Company will ask for additional Rooftop/Steeple Space. Recently, this “sales pitch” is used to entice Rooftop/Steeple Cell Site Owners to sell their rights. This extra space is sometimes presented as an “Ease Flex” with a promise of great upside potential. You may receive a promise of 50/50 revenue share and that they will market your Rooftop/Steeple Cell Site for you to get this revenue. Is there a guarantee with this promise? These promises should be addressed carefully.
Unison, in particular, has enjoyed great success with this offering. We have dealt with this issues numerous times and can tell you the probability of you ever receiving additional revenues from your Rooftop/Steeple Cell Site Lease and advise you on what you are giving them. If you have been offered an agreement in which you are giving up additional space, you should contact us.
Please contact us before you enter any new Cell Tower Lease or Cell Site Lease Agreement.
Unison and Ease Flex are trademarks of Unison Site Management. ComServe has no affiliation with Unison Site Management.
Tax Ramifications and 1031 Exchanges
(UBIT) Unrelated Business Income Tax. This is usually not a concern of Non-Profits but it can be an issue for some organizations. If your organization is operating as a not-for-profit, you could be liable for paying taxes should you decide to sell your Cell Site or Cell Tower Lease.
Many Cell Site Leaseholders want to know if their transaction qualifies for Capital Gains treatment. The sales representatives from the Cell Phone Company or Finance Company will always tell you what you want to hear. They have almost always never consulted an Accountant or Tax Advisor. We do not give Tax or Legal advice but we can point you in the right direction based upon our experiences dealing with these issues. We can also answer questions for your Attorney or CPA.
Some of our clients want to do a 1031 like-kind exchange. There are certain criteria and filings that must be completed before your transaction. We can help you avoid making a costly error that could prevent you from taking advantage of this tax deferring filing.
Please contact us before you enter any new Cell Tower Lease or Cell Site Lease Agreement.
