On rights of first refusal

I try to protect myself so that that my Lease states, at the end of the Lease, if the property owner is going to put their property out to bid for a new billboard, I want the right to meet or beat any offer. To be a valid offer, the property owner should be willing to show me a copy of the offer from the billboard company on company letterhead with a signature. Or if 6-12 months after asking me to remove the billboard if the property owner signs a new lease for construction of a new billboard I want the right to match the terms and rebuild my billboard.  Sometimes that clause survives Lease negotiations and sometimes it doesn’t.

Authorized signers

There’s a short paragraph in my leases where the lessor represents that he or she is the owner of the property and has the authority to sign the lease and will immediately notify me if there is any change of ownership or the property.  When we are ready to sign a lease I run a copy of the deed.  I look for whose name is on the deed.  I can see if it’s an individual, a trust, a husband and wife, family members or a company.  When a property is owned by a corporation or LLC I ask the property owner for the articles of incorporation.  That way I can see who has the authority to sign. Its important to use a real estate service like First American Real Estate to find a copy of the deed.

Notice requirements.

The notice section should include the name of the business, the property owner and the mailing address, telephone and email address.  There should also be language in the Lease that the property owner will notify you of any changes in address, telephone, email or ownership.  If the property owner changes, and the new property owner calls and says where’s my money you want to be able to say, we’ve been sending the checks to the address in the lease and we haven’t been notified of any change. Even if the new property owner didn’t get a copy of the Lease, most billboards have an imprint and thats constructive notice and a good way to find us.

Nameplates/imprints

We don’t see many billboards without nameplates/imprints in California.  A nameplate/imprint is the perfect way of constructive notice.

Andy Goodman has 33 years experience siting and developing billboards.  You can reach Andy at andygoodman.age@gmail.com.

[wpforms id=”9787″]

Paid Advertisement