My sister and I opened a bookstore in south Louisiana last summer. We (foolishly) signed a three year lease (actually, we weren't given an option of length of lease). The location of the business was not good for us. In the first 6 months I don't think we made $5,000. The business economy in the area is bad. Since we opened, a number of small businesses have closed up. To top it off, the landlord didn't keep the outside of the property groomed. We think that had something to do with the lack of business. Customers told us they didn't think we were open.
We need to get out of the lease. We're trying to sublet the space, but have had no luck.
If your landlord did not live up to their of the contract (such as not maintaining the property as outlined in your lease agreement), you may be able to find grounds for getting out of the contract. Consult a small business lawyer who is familiar with commercial leases to see what your options are.
If your landlord did not live up to their of the contract (such as not maintaining the property as outlined in your lease agreement), you may be able to find grounds for getting out of the contract. Consult a small business lawyer who is familiar with commercial leases to see what your options are.
Thanks for tip. We'll look into that. We did send him a letter outling where we felt he did not keep to his end of the lease. To-date he has not reponded to that letter at all other than to get the property cleaned up. That happened just in the last few weeks.
Kathy,
I have to agree with the prior advice to consult with an experienced attorney. Please bear in mind that usually once a lease is signed it pretty much spells out the entire agreement and is hard (and/or expensive) to modify and or break.
If it's a property maintenance issue, you may have certain rights and remedies under the lease (or the law for that matter) and your attorney can help you. If you are committed to get out of that location - no matter what; once again, a qualified real estate attorney can be worth their weight in gold while drafting & negotiating the sublease or an assignment agreement for you (and there is a pretty big difference there, so ask them about it while you're at it).
It sounds as if the LL already has a few vacancies in the center and it could be just their way of saving some money. Chances are that they probably don't want any more empty spaces - like you guys - so keep after them to fulfill their end of your agreement (and save all copies of your correspondence, just in case!).
If you have no other choice but to ride out the remainder of the lease, do as much as possible to attract attention to your business. Look into additional signage (i.e.., 'feather flags', 'wind dancers', etc), increase your local store marketing...whatever you can do to increase traffic. Besides; it may help attract a buyer for the book store...
Best of luck to you,
-Tony
NicoleD | Former Moderator | 3/31/2010 - 10:52 am
kcspiess | Window Shopper | 3/31/2010 - 11:18 am
LocationIsland | Creator | 4/12/2010 - 3:14 pm
kcspiess | Window Shopper | 4/12/2010 - 3:30 pm
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