THINGS YOU NEVER WANT TO DO TO YOUR LANDOWNER

There is a certain amount of trust that goes into a billboard ground lease. The landowner doesn’t really know you that well, and the amount you are offering is not that huge, so there is the unwritten assumption that you will not do anything to displease them. Since most billboard ground leases have some form of termination provision, and will definitely one day require negotiating a renewal, you would think that most billboard owners would take a little more effort to protect their interests. Sadly, however, many don’t. Here is a list of the top things that you should never do to your landowner – or suffer the consequences:

Competing Ad Message

Let’s say that your property owner is a Chevrolet dealer. You would never rent the billboard on his property to a Ford dealer, would you? Surprisingly, this happens frequently. Normally, the billboard owner knows better, but just can’t resist renting a vacant billboard for good money. They really believe that the property owner won’t notice – as if that was even a possibility. And once discovered, the problem is not easily remedied, as most advertising leases are one year in length. I have seen ground leases terminated over this type of problem. And it’s a stupid, avoidable problem. If you are unsure if a business is a direct competitor to your landowner, then call and ask them. But I bet you can tell without calling.

No Controversial Advertisements

Do not run political advertisements without asking your land owner first. Most of the time, if not all of the time, they will have no objection, but you never know what kind of embarrassment it could create. If your landowner is running for democratic office, but has a republican ad on his billboard, that could be a real problem. Religious messages, such as “God Saves” on a landowner who is an atheist could be another problem. You know the controversial advertisements out there: political, religious, abortion, etc. Always check with your landowner before you install these.

No Adult Businesses

Never run, without your landowner’s approval, an advertisement for a topless bar, nude club, massage parlor, adult novelty, or adult bookstore. This could cause a rift with your landowner that can never be soothed. The worst case I’ve seen was an adult bookstore on a billboard that caused picketing and an ad in the newspaper, highly embarrassing the landowner on a level that is hard to beat. And I should know – I was the idiot who did it early in my career. Believe me, that’s a bad idea.

Dangerous, Under-Built Structure

There is a difference between a billboard that is damaged in a windstorm, and the kind that falls down while just sitting there. If you know you are building a sign with questionable structural integrity (or buying one) bear in mind that this could cause a serious lack of trust problem with your landowner, not to mention liability and safety risks. The most common type of way a sign owner creates structural danger is by increasing the height of the structure or size of the advertising face. Whenever you make a height or size alteration to a structure (assuming it’s legal to begin with) you have to re-engineer the wind load forces on the sign and make appropriate modifications.

Not Paying Rent Timely Or At All

A landowner does not ask much of you other than to pay your rent on time. Often, the landowner has bills of his own to pay that your groundrent helps offset. They are not going to forget that the rent is due, and they will definitely notice if you are late. You are never going to get away with not paying the rent. If you don’t pay, the landowner has the right to terminate the lease, rendering your location worthless. You won’t be able to sell it to someone else, and you will be in default of your bank loan. There is no dumber idea than not paying your ground rent. Make whatever adjustment necessary to your finances to make sure that you landowner gets paid promptly without fail.

Not Communicating With Your Landowner At Renewal Time

It is a dumb idea to hide from your landowner when the groundlease comes up for renewal or expiration. Many billboard owners do this in hopes that the lease will roll-over for an additional one year renewal if they can con the landowner into violating the right to terminate deadline. This is clearly a very short-sighted concept. What are you going to do when the one year renewal runs out? The better plan of action is to call the landowner well ahead of expiration and proactively forge a new lease. We get calls from landowners at outdoorbillboard.com every day who have been trapped into a short-term renewal and want to kill their billboard company lessee.

Damage Property While Accessing The Sign

Every time you set foot on your landowner’s property, make sure to treat it with the utmost respect. It is not acceptable to create ruts with car or truck tires, or leave debris at the base of the sign. And if it is on a farm or ranch, make sure not to let any livestock out and to close and lock any gates. I have seen cases where an irresponsible billboard operator leaves the gate open and livestock ends up on the highway. I should know. I did that one, too.

Conclusion

One of the prime strategies for being a successful billboard operator is to stay on very good relations with your landowner. If you follow these suggestions, you should be able to remain on friendly terms at all times, and you will reap the rewards of this relationship every time your lease comes up for renewal or expiration – or the absence of a lease termination letter in your mailbox.
 

About the Author:

Frank Rolfe started his billboard empire from his coffee table, as a fresh graduate from Stanford University.  It began as a resume builder for graduate school applications, and ended with a sale to a public company 14 years later.
 
Using unique strategies he developed from desperate competition with much larger adversaries, Rolfe eventually owned more billboard units than any private individual in Dallas/Ft. Worth.  Along the way, he fine-tuned the techniques to find billboard locations, rent advertising space, and sell signs and leases.

Rolfe is the author of the Billboard Home Study Course and has also put together the only bootcamp for those looking for a crash course on the billboard industry.  The Billboard Bootcamp is held twice a year in St. Louis, MO.