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dizposition

Sell your cell tower

The ground lease or easement under a tower. A long rent stream with a short termination right, and an offer you may already have.

Cell Tower at a glance

Typical deal size
$150K – $3M
Lease structure
Ground lease or easement
Typical term
5-year terms with renewals, often 25–30 years total
Escalations
2–3% annually, or 10–15% every 5 years
American TowerCrown CastleSBA CommunicationsVertical BridgeVerizonAT&TT-Mobile

Overview

What cell towers are really worth

Our read

Owners of land under a cell tower do not own the tower. They own a ground lease — monthly or annual rent paid by a tower company or carrier for the space the tower occupies — and what they are selling is that income stream, either by selling the land or by conveying an easement over the tower area while keeping the rest of the property.

The central fact about these leases is that they are longer on paper than in practice. Most run in a series of renewal terms the tenant controls, and most allow the tenant to terminate on relatively short notice. A lease that appears to run decades may have only a few years of committed rent. That gap is where most of the valuation work happens.

The other fact is that the buyer most likely to call you is your tenant. Tower companies regularly offer to buy the lease or to amend it in exchange for term extensions, and they have the best information about the site. Owners who understand what drives value — carriers on the tower, coverage importance, termination rights, and escalations — negotiate from a much stronger position.

Valuation

How we underwrite it

The method

We underwrite the lease first — committed term, renewal rights, termination rights, escalations, and any revenue share on additional carriers. Each amendment gets read, because the current deal is the result of all of them.

The tower itself gets evaluated for how committed the tenant is likely to be. A site with several carriers and a role filling a real coverage gap is unlikely to be decommissioned; a single-carrier site in an area where networks overlap is more exposed. That assessment matters more than the paper term.

We confirm the income. Escalations get recalculated against the lease, and revenue share payments get checked against what is on the tower. Underpayments are common, and correcting them can change the value.

We structure around what you want to keep. An easement that conveys the tower income while you keep the land is often the cleanest result, and it leaves the rest of the property free for whatever you plan to do with it.

What moves the number

  1. 01Remaining term, and specifically how many renewal periods the tower company controls versus how many are actually committed
  2. 02Whether the tower company can terminate on short notice, which is common and turns a long lease into a short commitment
  3. 03Number of carriers on the tower, since each additional carrier makes the site harder to abandon
  4. 04Coverage importance of the site — whether it fills a gap that would be expensive to cover any other way
  5. 05Escalation structure, since fixed annual bumps compound very differently from periodic step-ups
  6. 06Revenue-sharing rights on additional carriers, if the lease has them, and whether they have been tracked and paid

Capital markets today

10-yr Treasury
5.24%
4.12% a year ago
SOFR
3.87%
4.2% a year ago
30-yr mortgage
7.28%
6.3% a year ago
CRE loan delinquency
1.53%
1.57% a year ago
CRE prices, YoY
6.58%
-2.7% a year ago

Sources: FRED DGS10, 2026-10-01 · FRED SOFR, 2026-10-01 · FRED MORTGAGE30US, 2026-10-01 · FRED DRCRELEXFACBS, 2026-04-01 · FRED COMREPUSQ159N, 2026-01-01

Diligence

What a buyer actually looks at in a cell tower

  1. Check 01

    The ground lease and every amendment

    Tower leases are often amended several times, and the amendments frequently extend term in exchange for concessions. The current deal is the sum of all of them, not the original lease.

  2. Check 02

    Termination rights

    Most tower leases let the tenant terminate on relatively short notice. That right is the single largest factor in how a buyer values the rent, and it is often overlooked by owners.

  3. Check 03

    Carrier count and equipment on the tower

    A tower with several carriers is much harder to decommission than one with a single tenant. The tower company's economics on the site determine how committed it is.

  4. Check 04

    Rent payment history and escalation calculations

    Missed escalations and unpaid revenue shares are common. Confirming that rent has been calculated correctly establishes the real income and sometimes recovers money owed.

  5. Check 05

    Title, access easement, and utility easement

    The tower company needs access and power. The easements granted for those uses run with the land and affect the rest of the property, whether or not the tower income is sold.

  6. Check 06

    Right of first refusal in the lease

    Many tower leases give the tower company a right of first refusal on any sale of the lease or land. That affects timing and process, and it needs to be handled correctly.

Backfill risk

What happens if the tenant leaves

The tenant-goes-dark scenario

A cell tower ground lease does not have a backfill problem in the usual sense. The landowner does not own the tower, does not operate it, and does not find tenants for it. What the landowner owns is the rent stream under the tower and the land it sits on, and the risk is whether that rent continues.

That risk is mostly in the lease, not the market. Tower companies own the steel and lease space on it to wireless carriers, and a tower with several carriers is a profitable asset they are very unlikely to abandon. A tower with a single carrier, or one in an area where network coverage has been redesigned, is more exposed. Most tower leases allow the tenant to terminate on short notice, so the length of the lease on paper often overstates the real commitment.

The other pressure is negotiation. Tower companies routinely approach landowners with offers to buy the lease outright, to extend term in exchange for lower rent, or to amend the lease in ways that favor the tenant. Owners who sign without understanding the trade often give up more than they get.

If a tower is decommissioned, the land reverts to the owner, usually with an obligation on the tenant to remove the structure. The value lost is the rent, not the land, which is why the rent stream and not the parcel is the asset being sold.

Why this matters to you

Every buyer prices the tenant-goes-dark scenario, whether or not they say so out loud. It is the largest hidden input into the cap rate you get offered.

Understanding it before you go to market is the difference between negotiating and being negotiated with.

Who sells to us

Situations we see most often

  • Landowner who wants a lump sum today instead of decades of monthly rent
  • Owner who received a buyout offer from the tower company and wants to know whether it is fair
  • Owner who received a request for a rent reduction or lease amendment
  • Owner selling the underlying property who wants to separate or keep the tower income
  • Estate dividing assets that are easier to split as cash than as a lease

Buy box

What we buy

  1. 01Cell tower ground leases and easements, $150K to $3M
  2. 02Single-carrier and multi-carrier sites
  3. 03Leases with short remaining committed term
  4. 04Owners evaluating a tower company buyout offer

Process

How selling to Dizposition works

The full process
  1. Day 0

    01

    Send us the property

    Address, asset type, and the lease if there is one. That is enough for us to start.

  2. 02

    We underwrite it

    Our underwriting runs the income against current market pricing and the cost of capital. No lowball anchor.

  3. 10 minutes

    03

    You get a firm offer

    In 10 minutes, with the math shown. You will know exactly how we got there.

  4. As fast as 30 days

    04

    Close on your timeline

    As fast as 30 days, or as slow as you need. We are the principal, so the date is yours.

FAQ

Selling a cell tower

The tower company offered to buy my lease. Is that a fair price?

It might be, but the tower company is the buyer with the most information about the site, so it is worth getting a second view. We look at term, termination rights, carriers, and escalations and tell you what the stream is worth. You are not obligated to take either offer.

They want to reduce my rent in exchange for a longer lease. Should I agree?

Sometimes it is the right trade and often it is not. A longer lease with a termination right on short notice may add less certainty than it appears. Send us the proposed amendment and we will tell you how it changes the value of what you own.

Can I sell the tower lease and keep the land?

Yes. The most common structure is a perpetual or long-term easement over the tower area, which conveys the rent stream while you keep ownership of the property. A full sale of the parcel under the tower is also possible.

What happens to my income if the carriers merge or move their equipment?

Carrier consolidation has historically led to some sites being decommissioned where networks overlapped. Towers with several carriers and sites that fill real coverage gaps are much less exposed. That risk is exactly what we underwrite, so it is the first thing we look at.

How long does it take to sell a commercial property to Dizposition?

You get a firm written offer within 10 minutes of sending us the property. If you accept, you can close in as little as 30 days — most of that is title work and your own timeline. There is no listing period, no marketing, and no waiting on a buyer's financing contingency.

Can I sell my property as-is?

Yes. We are the buyer, so there is no lender requiring repairs and no inspection contingency to renegotiate against you. Deferred maintenance, a failing roof, an aging tank system — we price it into the offer rather than asking you to fix it first.

Can I sell with a tenant in place?

Yes, and in most cases a tenant makes the property more valuable to us, not less. We will ask for the lease, a rent roll, and any estoppel certificates. You do not need to deliver the property vacant.

What if my lease is short-term or about to expire?

Short remaining term is one of the main reasons owners come to us. A conventional buyer needs lease term to get financing, which is why short-dated assets sit on the market. We underwrite the real estate and the backfill prospects rather than the remaining term alone.

What if the property is vacant?

We buy vacant assets. Pricing shifts from an income approach to what the building and land are worth to the next user, which is a different calculation — but it is one we do routinely rather than one that disqualifies the property.

Do I need a broker to sell to you?

No. We buy directly, and there is no commission because there is nothing to market. If you already have a broker, we will pay them. Selling without one saves the commission, but you should understand you are also giving up price discovery — a broker's job is to find out whether someone will pay more than we will.

What documents do I need to get an offer?

The address and the lease are enough to start. To finalize, we will want the rent roll, the last two years of operating statements, the title commitment, any existing survey, and any environmental reports you already have. You do not need an appraisal or a broker package.

How do you determine your offer?

We underwrite in-place income against what the space would re-lease for, adjust for capital needs and any environmental tail, and apply a cap rate supported by comparable transactions. We show you the inputs. If you disagree with an assumption, we would rather argue about the assumption than about the number.

What are typical seller closing costs?

Title and escrow fees, any transfer or recording tax owed in your state, prorated property taxes, and payoff of any existing debt. Because we are the buyer, there is no commission and no marketing cost. Transfer tax varies significantly by state and is often the largest single line.

Will I owe capital gains tax when I sell?

Usually yes, on the gain above your adjusted basis, and depreciation recapture is taxed separately from appreciation. State treatment varies. This is a question for your CPA before you sign, not after — the structure of the sale can change the answer.

Can I do a 1031 exchange?

Yes. A 1031 exchange lets you defer federal capital gains by reinvesting in like-kind property, subject to a 45-day identification window and a 180-day closing window from the date you sell. You must have a qualified intermediary in place before closing — it cannot be arranged afterward. Most states conform to federal treatment, but a few do not.

Can I sell if I am behind on payments or facing foreclosure?

Yes, and speed is the reason to move early rather than late. We can close on a defined date, which is what a lender or a receiver generally needs to see. Send us the payoff figure and any notices you have received.

Can I sell a property I inherited or that is in probate?

Yes. Probate sales take longer because the court timeline governs, not ours, and multiple heirs need to agree on the price before anything can close. We are used to working around both. Inherited property also generally receives a stepped-up basis, which can change the tax math substantially.

What if there is environmental contamination?

Send it anyway. Environmental history is one of the most common reasons a conventional sale falls apart, and it is one of the reasons owners call us. We price the remediation and the residual liability into the offer rather than walking away at the Phase II.

Is there any cost or obligation to get an offer?

None. There is no fee, no listing agreement, and no obligation to accept. If our number does not work for you, you keep the underwriting we showed you and we part ways.

Markets

Top markets we buy cell towers in

10-minute offer

Ready to sell your cell tower?

Send us the property and the lease. You'll have a firm offer, with the math shown, in 10 minutes.