Clearwire Wireless Tower - Land Lease Question

[teknic]

I'm new to the site so I'm not sure if I'm asking this question in the right area or even if this question is okay to ask so please forgive me in advance if I violate any rules I'm not aware of.

Clearwire has contacted me and needs to lease a small section of my back yard to build a shed for thier control unit that will control the wireless tower that will be placed on top of the power pole. For using my land and building the shed, etc, they have offered to pay $500/mo. I wanted to see if that sounded right or fair. I didn't know if this figure was negotiable or what. Do you have any ideas?

[TelcomJunkie]

Negotiate! Get as much as you can and make sure you and a lawyer review the full contract. Get all the details about how they'll access it, how much room they get, how much extra they pay if they add more capacity. Who pays to remove the tower if they no longer need it? Etc, etc...


Check out http://www.steelintheair.com

This can be very profitable for you, but can also bite you in the butt later on.

[wirles]

Originally Posted by teknic

I'm new to the site so I'm not sure if I'm asking this question in the right area or even if this question is okay to ask so please forgive me in advance if I violate any rules I'm not aware of.

Clearwire has contacted me and needs to lease a small section of my back yard to build a shed for thier control unit that will control the wireless tower that will be placed on top of the power pole. For using my land and building the shed, etc, they have offered to pay $500/mo. I wanted to see if that sounded right or fair. I didn't know if this figure was negotiable or what. Do you have any ideas?

It depends on several factors. What are they bringing in for utilities, and what easements do they need (utility easements, ingress/egress, etc...). What size vehicles are allowed to use the easement and how often/at what times. How mush space are they taking up (square footage of footprint).

On the terms side, you want to include language that says something to the effect of it is for 3 years, and automatically renews after that for one year periods until they terminate in writing XX days in advance. Upon each renewal period the monthly lease fee (site license) shall increase by a rate of 3% or CPI (Consumer Price Index) whichever is greater. Also force them to maintain an escrow of XX dollars, or pay you a sum up front to guarantee financial coverage for the removal of the site should they choose to vacate the location upon termination or bankruptcy.

And like the person above said, negotiate. $500 sounds fair if all they are doing is using non-essential space on you property that is taking up less than say 100 square feet (10'x10'), but it never hurts to ask for more.

[WirelessRave]

free car payment.. not to shabby

[GopherWireless]

Definitely have a lawyer check it out.

Negotiate through them. See if you can get hooked up with free Clearwire service thrown in. I have it and I love it!!!

[chuikov]

Like Wirles mentioned, get annual increases rather than term increases. It doesn't seem like much, but it will get you alot more money over the years.

If C.W. is going on an existing pole and all they want is space for their 5'x10 cabinet pad and probably some utility pedestels, they should only need about 200 sq ft. If that is all the space they need, and they are not putting up a pole, anything over $500 would br a bonus.

Two warnings:

1. Don't get too greedy. Getting $500 per month for a small piece of undeveloped land is pretty good.

2. More importantly - Don't let your lawyer blow the deal for you. If he tries to get tough and change a bunch of lease language, C.W. might walk. Even more important, if your lawyer wastes a bunch of time reviewing the lease, you might not hear back from CW. Time is the most important factor, and if you drag your feet, they will walk. I don't work for C.W., but I know they are building their network here, and they want to do it fast.

[GopherWireless]

Teknic, did you get the agreement worked out?

[Jonathan Kramer]

Originally Posted by chuikov

<snip>
2. More importantly - Don't let your lawyer blow the deal for you. If he tries to get tough and change a bunch of lease language, C.W. might walk. <snip>

C:

As one of them, thar people, I generally agree with your sentiment. There are certainly lawyers out there that might crash an otherwise good deal on a minor point. The issue is, what's a minor point to the client that's been adequately informed.

I have a saying that applies to the core of my work: "Council has the right to make the wrong decision, as long as they're properly informed."

I wish I'd seen this thread sooner.

Best,

Jonathan