Lana, I have a question regarding the cell tower situation you described.

You bought the cell tower lease when you bought the farm. Is it the case that ATT is the actual owner of the cell tower itself but that they require continuing authorization to use it as a part of the original deal that allowed it to be constructed on the farm.

By the way, I'm asking just to get a better understanding of the way such deals are structured in part assuming it might be similar to the way billboards are leased in commercial areas with traffic driving by.

Unlikely my neck of the woods would have property with small apartment building with cell tower but I might still look into it just a bit more.

The original Lease was Centennial Wireless, then the tower Lease was bought by ATT( 2 years after I bought farm) and they assumed the Lease just like I did. Interestingly, when I bought the farm the Lease was 15 pages long but pages 11,12, and 13 were missing. Shortly after ATT bought out the Centennial towers including mine, they contacted me for a copy of the Lease which they were missing those pages also. Only a legal description of the Lease was filled with the county and the lawyer who drew up the Lease was retired soon after. I tried in 2005 and 2006 to break the Lease using the notion that if both parties were missing 20% of the Lease how could it be legally binding. But, I had a rotten attorney and a consult with Steel in the Air made me drop it. Steel in the Air said I would likely be unsuccessful.

Lana, so it seems that either:

--The tower owner and user of the tower can be the same as in your case but they do not own the land and must lease it, or

--The tower owner owns the land and leases the tower to the carrier, or

--The tower owner could lease the land from the property owner, with the tower owner also owning the right to lease the use of the tower to the carrier.

I know there are huge companies that own and/or lease (to carriers) thousands of towers. Is it common for landowners with a tower to be contacted by a company like American Tower Corp which I believe is a REIT where they were looking to buy the land and the right to lease the tower to the carrier, or maybe just to buy the right to lease the tower to the carrier.

I am not sure this will help you, but this is my brothers story.

He has a right of way leased which runs along the whole west side of his 40 acres. The oil & gas company leased an area 40 feet wide, running north and south.

Last year they dug up and installed an extra line. When it was dug the soil was placed along side the leased line.

The problem started when a dozer came in to back-fill and the dozer ran over and ruined about 100 trees that my brother had planted about 10 years ago.

He called and talked to a supervisor who said they were sorry but nothing could be done.

My brother filed a Small Claims Form for $5,000.00 through the Court.

An attorney for the gas & oil industry asked for an informal meeting, before the Court date.

My brother took a video with his two sons holding tape measures showing the footage that was dug & back-filled plus all the ruined trees. He presented that as evidence. The attorney agreed to have the company pay $1,000.00 to stay out of Court. Refused. The offer went to $2,000.00- $3 - $4 and again to 5 grand. My brother would not back down. The other representative sat not saying anything, but let the attorney work. Finally they agreed to $5,000.00 and when the rep opened his check book there was a check already made out to my bro for $5 grand.

That oil & gas Company (I have withheld their name) did not want the case to go to Court (bad public relations).

The bottom line here is: My brother took time to document. He had an informative video. He proved his case. He stood his ground. He also then asked for the cost of the filing with the Small Claims Court, which was somewhere about $120.00 or more, as I am not totally sure, but they wrote him a second check to reimburse him that cost. And all without his own Attorney.

Vee,

I came to know about American Tower strictly as a potential stock market investment since they seemed to have a dominant position in their segment of the industry.

If it really is a legal easement, I assume that gives them the right. Not knowing the specifics of what makes an easement valid, I have no idea, but maybe you might verify it with an attorney who knows this stuff really well.