What you sell
In most transactions you sell the lease and the income it produces, and you grant an easement over the lease area. The easement is what allows us to keep granting the tenant its rights under the lease. Where it suits you, we can instead purchase the parcel beneath a tower outright.
A site on a commercial building is handled differently. That transaction is structured around the building: we acquire the lease together with a long-term right to the equipment space and its access, and the building remains yours. Our guide to rooftop sites explains it further.
What stays the same
The tower or the antennas stay where they are, and the tenant keeps operating under the same agreement it has today. In most transactions the land or the building stays in your name, along with everything outside the lease area.
How the price is set
Offers are based on the lease terms, how much term remains, and the rent currently being paid. As each deal is unique in its own right, there may be additional factors taken into consideration, but primarily, the offer we extend to you will rest on those three things. There is no fee for an offer.
The steps from introduction to funding
- Introduction. You tell us about the property and share a copy of the lease. We confirm whether the site is one we would acquire.
- Offer. We prepare a written offer, based primarily on the lease terms, how much term remains, and the rent currently being paid, then go through it with you line by line.
- Diligence. We review the lease and the title. The terms you accepted do not change between the offer and the closing table.
- Closing and funding. As a matter of practice, closings are conducted through a title company, which handles the documents and the funds. You are paid in immediately available funds when the transaction closes, and we cover the closing costs.
Costs and payment
We cover the closing costs. Transfer taxes and recording fees, where a county charges them, typically remain with the seller.
You are paid in immediately available funds at closing. Where it suits your estate or tax planning, the proceeds can instead be structured as a series of payments.
The purchase is a sale rather than a loan, so we have no claim against you if the rent later falls or the tenant leaves. If the tenant ever removes its equipment after closing, you keep the full purchase price and owe nothing.
The same transaction for other leases
The same structure applies to billboard ground leases, solar, wind, and battery storage leases, and private rights of way. If your property produces income under another long-term agreement, tell us about it.