Verizon Cell Tower Lease Rates

Why Has Verizon Approached Me?

Verizon has been the most consistent of all the wireless carriers in terms of signing new leases for new tower and cell sites per year over the last two decades. Currently, Verizon is active in deploying midband 5G spectrum to their existing cell tower and cell sites. Soon though, Verizon will need more cell sites to fill in the gaps left behind due to the shorter effective distances of this spectrum as compared to the original spectrum Verizon deployed for cellular or PCS services. This means that more property owners will receive inquiries from Verizon to lease their property. 

Please note that we are not affiliated with Verizon, and we cannot help you procure a Verizon cell tower lease. We help landowners who have been approached by Verizon for a cell tower lease or those who already have a Verizon lease. If you found this page accidentally while trying to contact Verizon, please find them at www.verizon.com

How Does Verizon Decide Rental Price?

Verizon uses site acquisition vendors to lease property for the placement of a cell tower. These agents are issued search rings by Verizon to find a location for a tower. They seek out properties in the search ring that meet Verizon’s needs and submit them to Verizon. If your property isn’t in a search ring, you won’t be contacted, and no amount of marketing will encourage Verizon to use your property. 

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    The site acquisition agent (SAC or SAQ) will identify all properties in the search ring that meet local zoning regulations and appear to be “leasable.” Then they contact the landowners for the top properties and inquire if they are interested. If the landowner is interested, Verizon will typically submit a proposal to lease the property. The lease rate is based upon a couple of factors:

    1. Whether the location is urban, suburban, or rural
    2. Average property values in the area
    3. Average cell tower lease rates for other Verizon leases in the area
    4. The uniqueness of the property
    5. The availability of alternatives in the search ring
    6. Whether the site would be more or less expensive to construct a tower on

    With this information, Verizon’s agent will negotiate with the narrow list of qualified candidates to determine which site offers the highest probability of getting zoning and permitting approval but requires the lowest total cost. Notice that we use the phrase “lowest total cost” as opposed to lowest lease rate. They look at both the cost to construct the tower on the property and the ongoing rental obligation when weighing which location is best. 

    What are Typical Verizon Cell Tower Lease Rates?

    Verizon’s average cell tower lease rate in our database is $1,250/month or $15,000/year. Please note that this average includes both new leases and older leases that have escalated over time. 

    By comparison, if we limit our query to just new lease offers from Verizon, the average lease is $1,100/mo. across the US. Please note that there is a wide variance in our data – many leases are around $500/mo., while some leases are upwards of $5,000/mo. 

    Furthermore, existing leases almost always pay higher rent than new leases.  There are many reasons for this- but the top reason is that leases escalate over time.  Furthermore, when a Verizon lease is set to expire, there is an opportunity to negotiate better fiscal terms in many cases because Verizon doesn’t want to move their tower and equipment.  

    In other words, don’t assume that Verizon is underpaying you just because the lease rate they are offering is less than $1,100/mo. Likewise, don’t think that you have a great deal because Verizon’s lease proposal or existing lease is above our average rate of $1,100/mo. 

    Every Site Is Different And The Average Verizon Rent Is Just That – The Average.

    How Can I Find Out the Appropriate Cell Phone Tower Lease Rate for Verizon in My Area?

    Wireless carriers (including Verizon) do their best to prevent landowners from finding out what they pay – going so far as to add confidentiality provisions in their new leases. There is no MLS of cell tower lease rates, nor is there a publicly available database which shows how much property owners are being paid. Verizon records a “memorandum of lease,” but they omit how much rent they are paying in it. You may be able to find one or two owners who have Verizon towers in the area. However, how do you know if they negotiated the best deal that they could? 

    Alternatively, you could contact us. We are experts in Verizon cell tower ground lease rates and tower leases. We have a database of 15,000 leases with lease rate data that we have painstakingly assembled over the last 20+ years. We can tell you not only what Verizon typically pays for their cell sites in your area, but what other wireless companies pay in rent for their cell tower leases. 

    More importantly, we can tell you how your particular property compares to the other properties in the area and why Verizon is likely to pay more (or less) given the alternatives. 

    If you have an existing Verizon lease or have received a proposal from Verizon to lease your land, please contact us.  Here is our commitment to you:

    1. The initial call is free.
    2. Information you share in this discussion will be treated as confidential.
    3. If we don’t think we can help you improve your situation, we will tell you. 
    4. You are under no obligation to use our services until you sign a service contract with us.
    5. We offer flexible payment options to suit your individual needs.
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