Vertical Consultants, which represents landowners in negotiations regarding cell-tower lease transactions, recently recovered unpaid and underpaid rent from AT&T Inc. to Westport Properties Inc., a California-based real estate developer and self-storage operator. The rent was for the occupancy and use of property in Baltimore.

Westport approached Vertical Consultants last year to review and provide counsel on its cell-tower and roof-top leases. Upon review of the lease with AT&T, the second largest telecom company in North America, it was discovered that rent was due to Westport back to 2002. In addition, the agreement required modification to increase the rent. Vertical Consultants recovered past-due rent and achieved an immediate increase in rent going forward.

Property owners at all levels would be surprised how many cell-tower and roof-top landlords are not being paid correctly," said Hugh Odom, president of Vertical Consultants. "The prevailing reason for this occurring is that most property owners do not have the information they need to prevent this from happening. We are here to change that.

Founded in 2010 by Odom, Vertical Consultants is comprised of a group of wireless-industry veterans with more than 40 years of combined experience. The company specializes in issues surrounding the wireless-telecom industry, providing property owners with the information they need to make decisions regarding their cell-tower lease agreements. Areas of expertise include telecom-site acquisition and development, lease negotiation, and the legal issues surrounding such transactions.

Launched in 1985, Westport Properties operates more than 40 self-storage facilities under the name US Storage Centers.

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