Get Lease Help

With the numerous economic disruptions of the past years, many business owners are coming to the realization that no matter what measures they adopt, no amount of robbing Peter to pay Paul will save their business.

This is a sad and tragic circumstance for thousands of businesses across the country. You are not alone.

Once a business owner has arrived at the realization that no amount of creative juggling of payables and modifications to their operations will save them from closure, there are certain steps that must be taken to avoid the worst repercussions for these business owners.

Negotiate Out of Your Lease

The largest obligation that a small business takes on is normally its lease obligations. In a retail context, these are generally linked with personal guaranties (a promise from the business owner that they will backstop any rental deficiencies with their personal assets). These can be devastating to personal finances if not dealt with correctly and quickly. While bankruptcy can certainly provide vital protections for a business owner if their business is no longer viable, there are other (perhaps less costly) ways to close their business and protect themselves from their creditors. In many cases, we can negotiate a lease termination agreement, which cancels the lease and any obligations under the personal guaranty. While not every landlord will be open to negotiating one of these with each tenant, many landlords understand the economic realities that tenants are facing and landlords would prefer to get as much money now as possible and avoid costly legal fees if they needed to sue to evict the tenant. This can be to your advantage! It may be economically painful, but it may be less costly than bankruptcy if you pay the landlord a fee to terminate your lease and remove any obligations related to the guaranty you signed.

Don’t Mess Around with Payroll

Although the temptation is often there if you run your own payroll (rather than using a payroll company), to use the money withheld for taxes from your employees as a “short term loan”, I strongly, strongly recommend against this. Non-payment of payroll taxes is one of the few debts that a business owner cannot discharge in bankruptcy and is one of the most difficult debts to charge off or work out a payment plan. Morale of the story is: don’t touch it! Help is on the way!

If you need help navigating your way out from under an oppressive lease and other financial debts from your business, we can help! Set up a time to discuss with us your needs and we will let you know if we can help.