Anyone who has ever spent time out in the field signing up billboard ground leases knows that every old mom and pop has their own unique life stories. And most are far more interesting than anything you’d see in a movie. And in listening to those stories, you would often bond with the landowner and get a nice lease in return.
Here is the wildest story I have heard in my years of signing up ground leases.
Many billboard owners do not have a very sophisticated knowledge of how binding their ground lease is. With the ground lease being the backbone of any billboard deal, it is essential that it be valid and binding – or you’ve just built a bunch of timed-delayed scrap metal. And without a valid, binding ground lease, your lease and permit has not value to another sign company and you cannot obtain financing. Here’s a quick outline (more…)
When I first started “knocking on doors” to try to sign up new billboard locations, I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. And I also didn’t have the right attitude. Over time, I learned all the mechanics of how to find and sign up a new billboard ground lease, but I did not start signing them up in vast numbers until I got the right mindset. With the correct mindset, you become a fierce competitor who is hard to beat – and you come away from the process feeling good about yourself and what you’ve accomplished.