A billboard lender will secure a billboard loan by taking a UCC-1 filing on cash, inventory, equipment and intangibles, an assignment of your material agreements (think ad contracts and leases) and a pledge of stock in your company. If you own land under your signs a lender will probably also take a deed of trust on the land. You should have a provision in your land leases which allows your to assign the leases to your lender as collateral without your landlord consent. Otherwise you will create delays in financing and could give the landlord the right to terminate your lease.
Lenders who are not experts in the billboard industry will sometimes demand other collateral (e.g. a deed of trust on a house or cash or a certificate of deposit).
The collateral will be governed by a security agreement which allows the lender to take steps to realize on the collateral is you default on your loan and are unable to clear the default.
