Skip to content
dizposition

Sell your data center

Data centers, powered shells, and battery storage sites. The power at the fence is the asset; the building is the container.

Data Center at a glance

Typical deal size
$5M – $75M
Lease structure
NNN or powered shell; ground lease for battery storage
Typical term
10–20 years; 20–30 years for battery storage ground leases
Escalations
2–3% annually
EquinixDigital RealtyAmazon Web ServicesMicrosoftGoogleNextEra EnergyRegional colocation and storage developers

Overview

What data centers & battery farms are really worth

Our read

Data centers and battery storage look like different businesses, but they are underwritten around the same scarce input: power. A data center needs large amounts of electricity delivered reliably to the site, and a battery storage project needs the right to move electricity into and out of the grid. In both cases the utility interconnection — how much capacity, at what point, on what timeline — is the core of the value.

That has made power-ready land one of the most sought-after categories in commercial real estate, and also one of the most frequently overvalued. A site near a substation is not the same as a site with a committed allocation. Will-serve letters, completed studies, and signed agreements represent very different levels of certainty, and owners are sometimes quoted values for the third when they hold the first.

The structures also differ from conventional net lease. Data center tenants frequently lease a powered shell and install equipment worth many times the building. Battery storage is usually a ground lease, with the operator owning everything above grade. In both cases the lease's treatment of equipment, removal, and decommissioning matters as much as the rent.

Valuation

How we underwrite it

The method

We underwrite power first: deliverable capacity, the documents that support it, and the date it arrives. A signed interconnection or facilities agreement is weighted very differently from a study or a letter of interest, and a queue position is evaluated against its remaining milestones.

The tenant is read in light of what it has invested. A hyperscale or utility-scale tenant that has spent heavily on equipment at the site is unlikely to walk away, and that investment is a stronger signal than lease term alone. A tenant that has not yet built has not yet committed.

For battery storage ground leases, we separate operating projects from projects still in development. An operating site with a long ground lease is a durable income stream. A pre-construction lease is an option on a project that may or may not reach operation, and we price it that way.

Entitlement and community risk are underwritten explicitly. Noise, water use, and fire code have made some jurisdictions slower or more restrictive, and a site whose zoning is settled is worth more than one that will need to win a hearing.

What moves the number

  1. 01Power — how many megawatts are deliverable to the site, when, and under what agreement with the utility — which is the asset in this sector and the building is secondary
  2. 02Position in the utility interconnection queue and the status of any signed study or facilities agreement, since a queue position can take years to replicate
  3. 03Proximity to substations and transmission lines, which determines the cost and timeline of getting power to the fence
  4. 04Fiber routes and carrier diversity for data centers, which matter far less for battery storage
  5. 05Tenant credit and how much the tenant has invested in the site, since hyperscale and utility tenants install equipment worth many times the real estate
  6. 06Zoning and local sentiment, as noise, water use, and tax treatment have made some jurisdictions harder to entitle in

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 data center

  1. Check 01

    Utility will-serve letters, interconnection studies, and facilities agreements

    Power capacity is the asset. A will-serve letter, a completed study, and a signed agreement are three very different levels of certainty, and only the last can be underwritten with confidence.

  2. Check 02

    Interconnection queue position and milestone deadlines

    For battery storage and large loads, a queue position carries deposits and dated milestones. A missed milestone can drop the site out of the queue and erase most of its value.

  3. Check 03

    Lease terms on equipment ownership, removal, and decommissioning

    Tenants install generators, switchgear, batteries, and cooling worth far more than the land. The lease needs to say who owns it, who removes it, and whether a decommissioning bond is in place.

  4. Check 04

    Fire code compliance and permitting for battery storage

    Battery storage is subject to specific fire code requirements and local permitting scrutiny. Setbacks, suppression, and emergency response plans affect both entitlement and insurability.

  5. Check 05

    Zoning, noise limits, and any local moratoria

    Generator noise, cooling, and water use have made data centers controversial in some communities. A site's entitlement status matters more than ever.

  6. Check 06

    Fiber and water availability

    Data centers need diverse fiber routes and, depending on cooling design, significant water. Neither is a factor for battery storage, which is part of why the two are underwritten differently.

Backfill risk

What happens if the tenant leaves

The tenant-goes-dark scenario

In this sector the building is close to incidental. What the tenant is paying for is deliverable power — megawatts at the fence on a known date — and everything about backfill follows from whether that power stays with the site.

A powered shell or data center with substantial, committed utility capacity is one of the easier specialized assets to re-tenant, because demand for power-ready sites has far outrun what utilities can deliver in many markets. A data center without that capacity, or an older enterprise facility with modest power and dated cooling, is a harder building — its specialized mechanical systems are expensive to maintain and limited in who wants them.

Battery storage sites are a different animal. The real estate is usually a ground lease under containers or enclosures, the tenant owns everything above grade, and the value is the queue position and interconnection agreement that let the site discharge into the grid. If a project fails before reaching operation, the ground often reverts to its prior use. Once operating, these sites rarely move — the interconnection is the expensive part and it stays put.

That is the common thread. Interconnection capacity, once secured, is extremely difficult to reproduce, and a site that has it is anchored. A site that has only been studied, or only expressed interest, is worth far less than owners are sometimes told.

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 near a substation fielding developer interest and unsure what the site is actually worth
  • Owner of an existing data center or powered shell with shortening term
  • Landowner holding a battery storage ground lease who wants the income stream as a lump sum
  • Developer holding a site with a queue position who lacks the capital to build
  • Owner of an older enterprise data center that a corporate tenant has outgrown or vacated

Buy box

What we buy

  1. 01Data centers, powered shells, and battery storage sites, $5M to $75M
  2. 02Land with signed utility agreements or queue positions
  3. 03Battery storage and data center ground leases
  4. 04Older enterprise data centers with meaningful power

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 data center

Developers keep calling about my land near a substation. What is it worth?

It depends almost entirely on how much power the utility can actually deliver to it and when. Proximity to a substation is a start, not a capacity commitment. We can help you sort out what the site can realistically support and whether a sale, a ground lease, or an option makes more sense.

I signed a battery storage ground lease. Can I sell the income stream?

Yes, once the project is far enough along to underwrite. A lease on a site that is still in the interconnection queue is worth considerably less than one on an operating project, because many queued projects never get built. Send us the lease and where the project stands.

Who owns the batteries or servers if the tenant leaves?

The lease should answer that, and it is one of the first things we read. Most leases leave equipment with the tenant and require removal and site restoration, sometimes backed by a decommissioning bond. If the lease is silent, that is worth fixing before a sale.

We have an older data center our tenant has outgrown. Is it still worth anything?

Often yes, and the reason is usually the power rather than the building. A facility with meaningful utility service in place can be worth repositioning even if its cooling and floor plan are dated. We underwrite the capacity first and the mechanical systems second.

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.

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 data centers & battery farms in

10-minute offer

Ready to sell your data center?

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