By Aimee Blakeslee
A wireless carrier wants me to sign an easement to allow them to drive across my property to access their cell tower and wireless antennas.
You received a letter from a wireless carrier offering to pay you for the use of your property to access their cellular tower. At first glance, it sounds like you hit the jackpot. The wireless carrier offers to gives you money and you really do not have to do anything in return.
But, is that really the case?
You may receive an offer or document with language similar to the following:
“Property Owner (“You”), for and in consideration of $1,000 and other good and valuable consideration, grants and conveys to Wireless Carrier the following:
Grantor agrees to maintain the access easement as to reasonably not impede or interfere with Grantee’s right-of-way access to Grantor’s land. Grantee agrees to pay Grantor the sum of $1,200 per year as a road maintenance fee.”
Sounds simple, but there is a lot you should know before you sign anything.
Almost every home has an easement, also known as an access road or right of way, generally for utility access. These easements can include placements of a utility pole, sewer pipes, and underground cables.
An easement for wireless communications purposes (we’ll call this a “wireless easement”) is more technical and may create significant consequences. A wireless easement does not allow the Grantee to own or occupy the land. Generally speaking, a wireless easement is a right that gives the holder of the easement (the “Grantee”) an interest in the property owner’s (the “Grantor”) land to use for a specific purpose. A Grantee can be a wireless carrier, or it can be a cellular tower owner/management company.
Easements can affect the value of your property because they limit the ways in which a property owner can utilize that portion of their property. A property owner cannot build on top of an easement, or in a way that blocks or interferes with an easement. If you are planning to build a home, shop, outbuilding or a swimming pool, plant trees or to otherwise develop the property where the easement is located, you may be forced to change your plans.
We have recently seen several examples where commercial and public entities were required to pay over $100,000 to relocate utility easements that were interfering with their intended use of their own property. In at least one scenario, this was more money than they had received in rent from the cellular carrier since the beginning of the lease!
Easement agreements may expire on a certain date, anywhere from 5 years to 99 years from the date that you sign it. Wireless companies typically seek the longest possible term, often giving the property owner no way out of the agreement until it terminates. Your property may currently be vacant, and limitations to how it is used may not concern you now. Do you know with certainty that you wish the property to remain vacant or limited in use for the next 99 years?
Easements typically “run with the land;” meaning this easement will stay with the property for the entire length of the easement even if you sell the property. When you sign an agreement for an easement, it is usually recorded with the County office in which the property is located. If you choose to sell the property, any interested buyer will have notice that this property comes with an easement attached to it. This may be a deterrent to any would-be buyers.
Many easements contain language similar to the following:
“Grantee may assign this easement and right-of-way for the purpose of construction, operation and maintenance of facilities, towers, antennas or buildings necessary for the transmission and reception of radio communication signals and all frequencies.”
What exactly does this mean?
~ Almost anything the wireless carrier wants it to mean!
The wireless carrier can share its rights to use this easement with others – construction workers, utility companies, surveyors, etc. They can even share their rights with other wireless companies, increasing the traffic across your property. Would it bother you to have massive cranes and construction vehicles traversing across your property and strangers coming and going whenever they pleased?
Many wireless easements allow traffic 24/7 across the property with no security or legal protections.
Additional concerns include:
- If permitted activities are not limited, the wireless companies can use the easement to run cables above and under the ground, erect structures, install additional equipment and leave behind unwanted materials.
- The property owner may have no protection from the hazards and liabilities of heavy equipment, injuries to workers and others, and damage to the property.
- What happens when the easement ends and your property is encumbered with unwanted cables, trash and equipment?
- Is it your responsibility to remove abandoned equipment and restore the area to its original condition?
Additional items to consider:
Suddenly, it doesn’t sound so simple.
You DO have options.
The wireless companies are generally very vague as to the full scope of their request. Most property owners, no matter how sophisticated, have little to no experience negotiating agreements specific to the wireless industry. Property owners usually do not know what questions to ask and what situations to anticipate. GCCSS knows. We can work with you and your attorney to ensure that your easement agreement contains the details necessary to protect your interests and maximize revenue.
Click here to contact us to see what Gunnerson Consulting can do for you.