I have a question in regards to flipping a ground lease to another company. Has anybody ever had an issue with the lessor being unhappy that although you were the original negotiator of the lease, you are no longer going to be affiliated with the project personally?
Is this something that would be written in to the contract that gives you free reign to sell the lease and permits to whomever you see fit? I would assume that most lessors wouldn’t as they are going to make money either way, I was just wondering what the legality of doing this is?
Your ground lease should allow for the lease to be assigned to others without permission, just as the land owner can assign their interests, as well. It has been my experience that most land owners like you to sell to a bigger company, as it makes their money seem more secure. Who wouldn’t rather have their rent coming from a huge company like Lamar as opposed to a smalll start-up, right?
Another reason that a land owner should be happy with you selling your ground lease to a bigger company is that most leases offer a percentage of gross rent to the land owner, and the bigger company can rent their ad space for more than you can. Considerably more. A national advertiser might pay two or three times more than you’re getting from a local advertiser, in some cases.