Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Virginia
lease contract
Problem: bought a convenience store business less than 6 months ago signed a bad contract with no legal representation under pressure, with 5 years lease and personal guarantee the lease for 5 years, tenant responsible for paying real estate taxes and maintenance of lease property. Tenant is a LLC. Clauses of lease contract include: indemnification of Owner, waiver of jury trial and counterclaims, waiver rights of redemption, waiver, partial invalidity, and broker commission. Tenant bought a business in bad financial shape with pretend belief that it was a profit business with no legal guidance except under the guidance of real estate broker. Tenants want out of the 5 years lease due to loss of business income on monthly basis. Convenience store is located within a condo building for retire person, store has reach it�s income potential limit which is exactly and sometime less than the monthly lease amount. There is no profit. What can the tenant do in this situation? File for personal and LLC bankruptcy? Take landlord to court for bad contract?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: lease contract
Since you apparently waived virtually
all of your rights in this alleged contract of adhesion, very likely you've also waived your corresponding remedies, including your right to seek recission or reform of this contract through appropriate court action.
Consequently, it would appear, other than disavowing this contract and your manifold legal obligations which attend it and simply "walking away" from the situation, and suffering the consequences which such a move would likely entail, your only remaining option is to continue to attempt to dialogue with the landlord regarding a renegotiation of the terms of the contract or, perhaps, a buyout of your lease whereby you would pay the landlord an agreed upon sum in return for his agreement to release you from this lease prematurely without your incurring additional penalties.