[Towertalk] 20 Year Old TriEx

[Bruce Miller]

Before you make the guy an offer, get out of the mindset that the tower
is worth anything at all, even to the point that the current owner ought
to pay you to haul it off.  Once you're in that frame of mind, call the
owner, offer next to nothing ($100?), and schedule the crane.  As a
buyer, the things you have going for you are a poor economy (with so
many people out of work, who has money to waste on a tower?),
restrictive covenants (nobody likes the looks of a tower), the owner
didn't replace the cable with OEM cable (safety issue), and the thing's
20 years old (what will break next and when it breaks will the tower be
at 70 feet and come down in the XYL's kitchen?).  All the owner can say
is no, then the "dance" to the eventual selling price begins.  You would
be surprised at how much can be gained by horse trading like this.  And
when you hit a home run, the owner accepts your original low ball offer.
Try it.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.  Folks have told me that they
don't want to insult or offend the seller with a low ball offer.  That's
BS.  This is poker playing, plain and simple.  Just be sure to have a
$100 cash in your pocket so when your offer is accepted, you can pay up
before anybody changes their mind.  That's my $.02 worth!
Bruce AA5BH