Today, site development expert Andy Goodman answers questions on lease terms, railroad leases and mom and pop leases.

What sort of billboard lease term makes sense?

That really comes down to are you building a digital sign or a static sign?  On a static sign we typically ask for 10 years with two 10 year options.  With digital signs these days we’re going into a 30 year lease.  We can’t afford not to have a long term lease if we’re going to invest $500,000-$750,000 in a two sided digital billboard.

Railroad Leases

The two Railroads I’ve dealt with are Union Pacific (UP) and BNSF. When dealing with UP for a billboard lease, you have to talk to Clear Channel.  With BNSF it used to be with Outfront, but most recently I’ve talked with Jones Lang LaSalle. Railroad leases are very much like tribal leases.  They can cancel for any reason and they don’t have to give you a reason.  The lease doesn’t have a development clause.  The requirements for building on Railroad property are very stringent and difficult.

Mom and Pop Leases vs Corporate Leases

I am more likely to get a long term lease from mom and pop leases than corporate.  I explain to the property owners the amount of money that I’m investing in the billboard and why we need a long term lease.   I don’t target corporate entities.  When I was doing leasing on my own I always went in to a city with mom and pops before I ever did corporate or large developers because they are much more difficult to negotiate with.  The corporate contact is more likely to pick up the phone and call a billboard company and open up a bidding war.

You can reach Andy at andygoodman.age@gmail.com, 310-721-8422.

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