Okay guys, I need a lot of help, I have a business that is not doing so well right now, my name, my partner, and the LLC is on the lease. My question is, if my business fails and I don't have money for rent, can the landlord go after my house, because I have a lot of equity on it right now. I heard different answer, one attorney said that they can put a lien on the house but my accountant said that because it's a LLC, the government won't let this happen. Please help guys, really stress out right now

You have to look at the lease carefully. If you signed the lease individually as well as a member of the LLC then your personal property is at risk.

Me, my partner did sign the lease with the LLC name, so does that means they can go after my house, what if the house is under my name and my buddy name, and he is not related to me??

When you signed the lease, what did it say? Did it say "XYZ Company, LLC, by John Doe, Member"? Or did it just say "John Doe"? If you signed it the first way then your personal property is safe. If you signed it the second way then your personal property is not safe.

A smart landlord will have you sign as "John Doe, individually and Member of XYZ Company, LLC". If you signed it this way then your personal property is at risk and it doesn't matter if there is an additional person listed as an owner of the property.

This is how it was sign, so how about that, please help



______________
John Doe
The Park Place LLC



___________
Jane Doe (Partner)

Tough one. Did you sign it only once? How is the tenant named at the beginning of the lease? Who originally drafted the lease?

Not sure what you are trying to ask, what do you mean, Who originally drafted the lease?

Did your attorney write the original version of the lease? Or did the landlord's attorney write it?

The reason I ask is because, when a term in the lease is ambiguous, then a court will decide against the meaning which favors the party who drafted it.

The landlord wrote the lease, not my attorney

From what you've said here, it sounds like you did not sign individually so your personal property should not be at risk. But you should NOT RELY on what I've said. Take your lease to an attorney so they can carefully read all of it and give you a much more informed answer.

Hello l:

She wants to know who WROTE the lease, because the writer is presumed to have an advantage. If there's a question in the wording of the lease, the person who wrote it SHOULD have made the lease clear. Because they didn't, they lose.

If YOU wrote it, then YOU'D lose.

excon

Well the landlord wrote the lease out, so that means I'm in good position not to lose my house if the business fails

Quote:

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Originally Posted by loidiep

well the landlord wrote the lease out, so that means i'm in good position not to lose my house if the business fails

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You MAY be in a good position. The body of the lease could contain a paragraph where you agree to personally guarantee performance of the lease. There is no way that you should be thinking you're in a good position unless you bring the lease to an attorney and have them review all of it. I suggest you do that asap.

I'm going to take a different tack here. In most states, one's home is usually exempt from debt not secured by the home. So I doubt if they can move aainst the house in any case. But, based on the signature section it looks like you both signed as a partner in the LLC not as individuals.

So what does that means than, since we both sign as a llc

Quote:

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Originally Posted by loidiep

so what does that means than, since we both sign as a llc

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LLC stands for Lmited Liability corporation. This means that, for the most part, the owners of the corporation have no liability beyond the assets of the LLC. So when you sign as a member of the LLC you are signing for the LLC not for yourself as an individual.

So even though I sign it like this, both of us are not liable for the lease, the LLC protect us?


________________
John Doe
Park Place LLC





_________________
Jane Doe (partner)

That's what it looks like to me. Each sig line identifies the person as an agent for the LLC not an individual. That's why you formed an LLC, didn't anyone explain this to you?

It was inform to me, cause at the time I sign the lease, we were not a LLC yet, but after a few months, right after we were done with construction, the LLC was form and I told the landlord to put the LLC in the lease and he agree and that was how we sign. So is my house in the clear if we fail

Ya know, I really love it when people all of a sudden come up with a factoid that can change the question. With all the emphasis on how this was signed you didn't think it was important to let us know that?

If the landlord tore up the original lease and made a new one, you should be OK. But if he just added the LLC info to your copy, you may not be.

This is getting too iffy for us to judge just on what you are telling us. You need to consult YOUR attorney who knows all the facts.