San Diego, CA · Member since 2012 · 13 posts · 1 vote
I recently purchased a property at the tax sale that has a billboard on it. It is two-sided and currently not in use. I am wondering what the best strategy would be:
- Lease to major billboard company
- Lease it myself
- Sell the property outright
This is a first for me, never had to deal with a billboard property before. Any input is appreciated.
Commercial Real Estate Broker · memphis, TN · Member since 2017 · 60 posts · 24 votes
9y
I would first determine what the current code is for billboards to assure that is still a legal billboard. Then you would want to determine if there appears to be a demand for billboards in that location: i.e. high traffic counts, lack of available billboards in that area. It can be difficult to try to lease the billboard sides yourself since you would be responsible for installing the new billboards and maintaining them, providing electricity and insuring them for wind damage, etc. In my experience it makes a lot more sense to either lease the entire billboard to a billboard company or contact the major billboard companies about them purchasing it. It could be that cell phone companies might have some interest in the billboard if they are installing the new antennas that boost service to users. When I worked in the real estate dept for a major retailer I was approached by one of the cell phone companies about putting those small antennas on our pylon signs or tops of buildings in no pylon sign. They were looking to lease but a deal never came together due to combination of corporate red tape and just the newness of this antenna program. They might also need a tower in your location so if site is zoned to allow for cell phone towers that could be a way you could generate perpetual income for a ground lease. There is probably a cell phone tower company in San Diego that does most of the work with the major tower users. Good luck and hope this helps.
San Diego, CA · Member since 2012 · 13 posts · 1 vote
9y
Thanks for the excellent info, Cherie! The billboard is legal and along a major interstate in Southern California. I had considered all of the options you suggested & will be contacting billboard companies to see about leasing it. The cell phone antenna is another idea that I need to look into. Do you have any advice regarding negotiating a billboard lease with a major company?
Commercial Real Estate Broker · memphis, TN · Member since 2017 · 60 posts · 24 votes
9y
The bill board companies typically have their own leases which are definitely favorable to them and hard to cancel should you ever need to. Prices tend to be all over the board so it won't be easy to get a good number. I'd be glad to see if anyone in my network has recent experience with leasing locations for billboards or cell phone towers in CA who might be a good & more local resource for you to consider talking to. There are definitely specialists in those areas of commercial real estate.
San Diego, CA · Member since 2012 · 13 posts · 1 vote
9y
@Cherie Ganesh, it would be greatly appreciated if you could check your network for someone with experience in billboard investing, any further guidance helps.
Real Estate Broker · Carlsbad, CA · Member since 2017 · 70 posts · 63 votes
9y
Michael Lazzizzera I would be interested in buying an easement underneath your billboard and the billboard itself. If you are interested in selling send me a PM.
Appraiser · Mesa, AZ · Member since 2017 · 20 posts · 9 votes
9y
Hi Michael,
The comments here are right on point. You should make sure that it is legal and has all current permits. If it does not, I would suggest that you contact the City or County planning department and the state agency that issues permits to get it permitted. It will have far more value if you do that work yourself.
Specialist · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2011 · 698 posts · 629 votes
9y
@Michael Lazzizzera great tax deed find! Not sure how I missed this post until today. You may have already closed a deal for the billboard, but another factor to the board being permitted is who actually owns the billboard. Most times, the land owner does not own the structure. Abandoned billboards are great to bring back to life and earn a steady income stream, but many structures are owned by the company that leased the land - and not the landowner.
Billboard permits vary by state and sometimes local statutes. Most of the time only the owner of the actual board can get/renew the permit. I know of cases where a company let a board go dormant for years. Someone new strikes a land lease deal with the landowner, gets a permit, restores the board and leases it to advertisers - only to have the original owner of the structure show up with receipts for building the original structure. The court asks to see any bill of sale from the original structure owner to either the new land lease holder or the landowner. When there is no bill of sale, the original billboard owner gets the billboard back.
Vendor · Macomb, MI · Member since 2016 · 6 posts · 0 votes
9y
Michael, If the billboard is not in use you have to ask yourself why is it? If it has permits and is in a good location, you may be able to sell those permits to a company like Lamar, Outfront, Clear Channel... but alternatively, I would recommend offering them the spot for a 50/50 split on the revenue generated. This way you can have someone market the billboard for advertisements and then you can monetize the asset once it has a greater value. PM me if you have any other questions!
I recently purchased a property at the tax sale that has a billboard on it. It is two-sided and currently not in use. I am wondering what the best strategy would be:
- Lease to major billboard company
- Lease it myself
- Sell the property outright
This is a first for me, never had to deal with a billboard property before. Any input is appreciated.
I see a billboard/land on a tax sale list. Any advice on any research I should do prior to bidding on this land?