Should I lease space for a cell tower on our homestead?

Wow, I'm so glad I don't have this quandary.
I'll throw another suggestion in the works to muddy the water. It sounds like you're not too fussed about the health risks given that you use a mobile phone anyway, and the siting and access can be dealt with to a certain extent with contracts and so on. So I have a suggestion that covers the neighbours aspect.
Given this is likely to happen somewhere in the vicinity and you are the new guy, so will probably get blamed for any adverse effects in future whether or not they could have been foreseen, my suggestion is to set up a trust with your neighbours and come up with a common agreement that can possibly benefit the whole neighbourhood. It is free money. Could it be used for community infrastructure, childrens' scholarships, or other neighbourly activities for example? How much inconvenience would losing that land really cost you? Why not give some away - win win?

Personally, and I am not you, there is no way I'd take a tower on my property.

I'm one of the people who's health is affected badly by them, and to me, the chance of making my health worse (especially I was going to have kids) is a major dealbreaker.

I seriously believe that one of these days people will realize the problems with EMF pollution are equal to the problems caused by factories putting out black smoke and toxic water. Just because we can't see it with our eyes doesn't mean it's not as bad.

Quite right to understand the radiation patterns of the target equipment, and each add-on coming later.  Gray's advice on hiring a skilled lawyer in helping with a contract is great:  You know the telecomms folks have their share of lawyers, enough to pull quick ones on the FCC whenever they want more.  I don't think this is anything like a win-win situation, especially with the knowledge that your neighbors will be aware of the situation:  will they ask for you to share your income?  would you ask the same of them, should the tower be in your neighbor's yard?  It is a tough position Andrea is in.

I found Arthur Firstenberg's "The Invisible Rainbow" an eye opener a few years ago.

Best of Luck.

That money is probably not tax free, and it's likely going to kick you up into another tax bracket, so take 15%  (?) off of that monthly amount.  It might even require having someone prepare your tax returns in order to handle it, not sure.  Or if you already are having someone prepare your taxes, they will charge you extra to add that to the return, so take their fee out of it.

For what it's worth, not everything in this life is made better by money.   Paying someone to wisely invest what you do make might easily make you this much in the long run.  

There is no going back, I don't think, once this agreement is signed.

Cristo Balete wrote:That money is probably not tax free, and it's likely going to kick you up into another tax bracket, so take 15%  (?) off of that monthly amount.  It might even require having someone prepare your tax returns in order to handle it, not sure.

It is worth considering those issues, and how the taxman views that income. I'm pretty sure anyone with a home based business ("sole proprietorship") can report that income without an army of accountants.

Talk to your insurance company also -- any liability issues that might cost you more? For example, they may insist on a gate so the local kids on quads don't race/party on the right of way.

On the flip side, the resale value of your property is automatically higher, since there is a guaranteed income stream to a potential new owner and they basically don't have to lift a finger to get it.  

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:
Talk to your insurance company also -- any liability issues that might cost you more? For example, they may insist on a gate so the local kids on quads don't race/party on the right of way.

Excellent advice.

Well, all of it, but especially the insurance angle.  That's an easy one to miss.

Wow, what an interesting question.  There are so many things to consider and I think you've got some good answers here.

However, the conversation has now wandered well into cider press territory and I'm locking this thread.  

You are welcome to start a new thread in the cider press if you want to keep on talking about toxic ick.  

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