Help not sure what to do

[delane167]

No there is no empty shops avaliable on that road at the min & I've looked into other shops in area & am finding it difficult to find what am after at a reasonable price

Is there a vets or pet store with a spare room that you could rent. Perhaps an option to explore.

 

[fantheflames]

I agree with @Carbtec - focus on the lease. You don't need her permission to speak to the landlord about the lease. She's ending the lease - you can start a new one with the landlord. Make your calculations for the equipment and potential stock then offer her a contribution.

If she's not happy with that, she'll need to sell it on to someone else. The chances of that happening is very low. She may accept your offer later, so perhaps, after making arrangements with the landlord, you can tell her you're taking over and looking for new equipment. If she's interested in selling, and we know she is - she'll consider it.

It seems like her heart isn't in it anymore - you're paying for secondhand equipment that's already been paid off by her business, anyhow! You'll be very busy starting your business - with a great location and client base (which is yours btw!). Be kind, respectful, and confident.

Good luck with this! Let us know how you get on.

 

[Ozzy]

Just thinking about the lease, and I really very much do not feel you should buy the business and the lease but if you, insist on a dilapidation reset with the current person making good dilapidations before you take it over - then have a reset with the landlord (and take photos).
The landlord probably wont want this as it's inconvenient as they can just smack you with a huge making good bill at the end of your lease with them, but it is very much in your interests to insist on this and be prepared to walk away if you don't get it.

 

[ethical PR]

Yeah I know once I take on the lease all the utilities & anything to do with shop/business is my responsibility.

She originally said she would just put lease in my name once the lease had run out but is now saying that the landlord said she can't just do that, she would have to sell me the business before putting lease in my name, so is wanting £10,000 off me for business.

I always thought if the lease had ran out then someone else can take over & have new name on lease but there saying I have to buy the business first.

Thanks

Obviously the only person who can put the new lease in your name is the owner of the property

 

[BusterBloodvessel]

Bit late to the party here, but she clearly has decided she wants something for the business (understandable - whether her valuation is realistic is another matter), and is using bullsh*t excuses to make that happen.

We had a similar-ish experience when we took over our shop. It was being run (I use the term loosely) as a greasy spoon cafe - all of the equipment in there was absolutely knackered, old, the whole place was a mess. We wanted the location but nothing else - we were changing the format completely, plus we planned to completely gut the place and change the layout etc.

We spoke to the woman that had it - she explained that her lease was expiring in a month or so but she was trying to sell "the business" (I mean, she had nothing to sell - some knackered old equipment and she was taking less than £500 a week most weeks). She wanted £7500 ??

We offered her £1000, as much as anything as a bit of goodwill, and just to move things along quickly and a couple of bits of equipment may have come in handy. She refused - her prerogative.

So, we tracked down the landlord. We actually found him as previously he had operated a business from there before retiring and leasing out the shop - we found the limited company details, he lived locally so my business partner actually went and knocked on his door and had a chat with him.

Long story short, we agreed a new lease with him directly as she had failed to do so (in fact she was 4 weeks outside of her lease, not paying any rent but still trying to sell it as a business). We could have turfed her out immediately but we gave her 7 days notice to remove all her stuff.

As you can imagine, she hit the roof, told us "we couldn't do that", went around slagging us off locally saying we'd stolen her business from her etc. I kind of felt sorry for her in a way but she just didn't understand that she didn't have "a business", she had some knackered old equipment in premises that she no longer had a valid lease for .

So, yeah - if your boss wants to play hardball and start demanding things, then unless you really value your friendship and relationship outside of work, play hardball back. There's nothing stopping you agreeing a lease with the landlord if she decides not to renew.

 

[PaulSmt]

It appears that the landlord has agreed to allow you to take on the lease, but the owner of the business must sell you the business for the lease to be transferred.

 

[WaveJumper]

Would be interesting to know how our OP has got on

 

[Ozzy]

but the owner of the business must sell you the business for the lease to be transferred

None of us really know without being there as part of the conversion, but I would advise that the landlord may "like the idea" of you buying the existing tenants business because then the landlord doesn't have to make the site good and fix any cracks in the walls. Whereas if you start a new lease the landlord has to reset dilapidations - make it all nice for the OP as a fresh start.

 

[littlelaura]

It appears that the landlord has agreed to allow you to take on the lease, but the owner of the business must sell you the business for the lease to be transferred.

Yeah your spot on

 

[littlelaura]

Am currently waiting for the landlord to be in the area to speak with him about the lease & also waiting on all the info off her about what the 10k is actually buying, am not rushing into anything.

In the meantime I've been thinking of other options, as I don't drive am unable to go around doing mobile so I've been thinking to buy a caravan, renovate it into a dog groomers & situate it on my mums drive but am unsure of any regulations that come with doing that or if I need permission of council, if anyone can help me on advice with that?

Also my other idea was renovating my mums garage (even though she doesn't want her garage taking) but as again same questions on regulations & permissions with doing that?
Thanks

 

[MBE2017]

The main considerations on running a business from home is the effect on neighbours. So 2-5 visitors a day might be considered reasonable, where 500 a day would be considered a nuisance.

So you might need planning permission, particularly if changing anything physically, plus business insurance and rates on the part of the property in use. Best place to start is at your local council offices.