One of the most commonly overlooked aspects of a cell site lease agreement, and often missed opportunity for reimbursement from cell tower lease tenants, comes in the form of real estate taxes. Cell towers are worth an amount in excess of several hundreds of thousands of dollars. When the towers are installed on your property, some county tax assessors consider the tower to be an improvement, and, as such, will increase the assessed value of your property. This increased assessment results in a higher tax bill for you, the landowner.
Most cell site lease agreements state that the tenant is liable for any increase in real estate taxes; however, increasingly, the experts at Vertical Consultants are noticing cell tower companies and telecommunications companies inserting tax provisions that require the landowner to cover these increased costs. If you are presented with an agreement that requires you to pay all real estate taxes, do not sign it! Tenants will, in most cases, agree to pay these increased costs if you ask.
For those landowners with a provision already in place that requires cell tower tenants to pay increased real estate taxes, enforce it! Often these provisions are written in such a way that requires the landowner to provide proof of the documented increase to the cellular tower tenant. This is an opportunity for additional reimbursements that many landowners pass up every year.
Depending on the wording of your agreement, if your cell tower tenant has not been reimbursing you for taxes, you may be able to recoup these costs going back to the year your agreement was signed. Depending on your individual situation, you may be owed tens of thousands of dollars. However, every county and cell site agreement is different, which is why you need a cell tower expert on your side. If you believe this situation applies to you, contact Vertical Consultants today for a free lease review! At Vertical Consultants, our experts have recouped hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax reimbursements, and we may be able to do the same for you.
In 2022, Vertical Consultants averaged an immediate 302% increase in rents being received by its clients, and since 2010, has been able to assist its clients in the recovery of over 300 years worth of combined underpaid, and, in some cases, unpaid rents and other expenses that were rightfully due to these property owners located throughout North America.
To learn more about our services, visit https://www.celltowerleaseexperts.com or contact Vertical Consultants at info(at)vertical-consultants(dot)com or 877.456.7552.
