A cell tower lease with the previous owner of our property.

by Lisa
(Buffalo, TX USA)

In January of 2021, we purchased 16 acres of land and a house. The previous owner informed us that he had a cell tower lease with Cingular and that he would receive the benefits as the lease indicated. But, in our real estate contract, the owner stipulated that if the tower had not been built by the end of the year, the land would revert to our ownership. The tower was not built, so when we refused to extend it, we thought that we were free and clear and could negotiate or refuse at our will. As we did not want the tower on our property, Cingular stated they would look elsewhere to locate the tower.

It seems that Cingular contracted with the infrastructure company, Tillman, in December of 2021. This past week we received a letter from Tillman's lawyers informing us that our real estate contract was incorrect, and they still had the right to build the tower, with all intentions of doing so. They were asking us for information so they could set up lease payments to us--the same that was negotiated with the previous owner.

My questions are, first, do they have the right to build it on our property without our consent? Then, if they are coming, do we have the right to negotiate a new contract?

Finally, do they have to put the tower a certain distance from our house? 400 meters?

Thanks,
Lisa