dpb wrote:
Tony wrote:
wrote:
On Sun, 18 Jul 2010 14:18:32 -0400, Tony
wrote:
I'm thinking of buying a property that was once the sight for a local
dish satellite system. My first concern is liability, ...
Maybe it's worth more?
If it gets expensive I think I could topple the thing one direction
where it is far from any buildings or trees. It actually looks easy
using the cables but that also sounds like a story for the Darwin
awards.
Any suggestions appreciated. I thought of renting out antenna space
but I figure it would already be done if anyone was interested.
Looking for suggestions of things to ask or research that I may not
think of. I guess i could leave 20 or 40 feet there and put a TV
antenna on it!
Why no put a tv antenna on top of the full 100 feet. Talk about great
reception.....
Liability. Right now if it could possibly fall, it could land on a nice
house next door.
That's the key word here, indeed. If the surrounding property is now
zoned for residential and there are houses within the radius it could
hit your insurance agent will definitely have an interest in rates for
that potential you'll need to consider.
One would, as you've alluded to, presume if there were any interest in
the site for either continuing satellite or other usage it is highly
unlikely a usable tower wouldn't be in use. I'd certainly want to find
out whether there's even any possibility of it being used for that
purpose; I'd suspect probably the reason it isn't being used now is that
zoning regulations have changed that forced them to go elsewhere and
that it wouldn't be allowed for cell or other use having once been
abandoned. And, of course, even if it were potentially allowed, then
you would be in a commercial venture and have that level of liability as
opposed to simply a homeowner.
I'd think it could easily cost as much or more to re-rig the support
guys for a shorter height as it would to dismantle it entirely and I'd
also expect there to be no commercial demand for it or somebody would
have already taken it. It's one of those things where the overhead in
taking it down and moving it and re-erecting it elsewhere would be far
more than new construction in very high likelihood.
Unless the land had real other value and can be got for much less than
the removal cost or there is some other reason the particular site has
other value I'd surely be thinking twice't and more and probably pass on
this nuisance. It surely needs some expert research at a minimum on
local conditions regarding the limitations in future use either personal
or commercial and what, if any, maintenance obligations come with it
that the current owner must pass on or are statutory by various
jurisdictions. I've no clue, just cautionary. Unless I were certain I
was going to have it removed, I'd want a current engineering evaluation
of condition, not just a look-see of my own as can imagine such would be
required for liability coverage as well as simply wanting to know didn't
overlook something.
All in all sounds like trouble _I_ don't need... 
--
First off, if it's an existing structure, it is grandfathered into any
zoning changes.
The fact that it's not currently in use means little. Based on what is
mentioned about it's prior use, it was likely a CARS band relay site for
a cable system which has simply been obsoleted by a fiber optic upgrade
of the cable system. A cable system I used to work for had two such
leased sites, and retired both when they did a full system rebuild /
upgrade which replaced the old CARS band microwave links with fiber.
The fact that some other use has not been made of the tower could relate
to numerous things, such as the expiration of the lease for the site,
the property owner not investigating a new lease with a different
company, location, and cellular operators already having adequate tower
space in the area. 100' is also pretty low for cell towers.
As for the possibility of the tower falling down, that is pretty
unlikely unless the tower has been out of service and maintenance for a
*long* time. The cost to have the tower inspected by a qualified tower
company is not that much and they can give an accurate report on any
issues, and what future maintenance might be needed. Also guyed towers
*do not* simply fall over unless they are deliberately sabotaged. If a
guyed tower fails for some reason, they will fall within an area about
30% of the tower's height, which means for a 100' tower, it would not
fall more than 30' or so from it's base. The tower manufacturer's
engineers can provide documentation of this, and have done so for at
least one person I know of.
You might investigate leasing tower space to an Internet MDS company if
they are common in the area. They provide Internet service to consumers
via short haul microwave links and often locate their antennas on water
towers and similar lower structures. A lease agreement could provide for
annual tower maintenance and free Internet service. You would also still
be able to put up a wind generator, etc. if you wanted.