[wallil]

We have a 30 month business lease with a small town mall. We have been continuously doing business for the last 12 months. The mall has been very quiet and there isn't much foot traffic. It seems that the mall patrons have slowly dwindled over the last few years. Our business is a specialty shop and we don't sell just everyday items. Over the last year, we've tried different marketing and advertising strategies and nothing seems to be working. We are sinking our personal money now for our business expenses. We need to close the business and get out of our lease somehow without having to buy-out the rest of our lease (18 months) legally. Is there a real and legal solution to this dilemma?

[joypulv]

Real and legal? Not sure what you mean... you go by the terms of your lease. If there's no buyout clause, you owe it all. If you can't pay, you negotiate with the landlord, who would probably rather do that than have to sue you, win, watch you file for bankruptcy, and never get paid. Show him your books and see what you can work out.

[Fr_Chuck]

Is this a corporation or do you rent personal.

But your only way out, is what the lease says. The lease protects you, so they can not evict or raise rates. But it also protects mall, so they will be paid for life of lease.

Did you do business trends, check with traffic flow over last few years ?