Legal help please?

[tyler33 0]

I just got back home from a trip and walked into my apartment to find most of my stuff gone. Turns out my Business Partner/Room Mate took all of his stuff, and some of mine and bailed. I can't get a hold of him. This is the thing that sucks, since I had better credit I put the utilities and apartment in my name(stupid I know,I am kicking my self for this). Now I am going to be stuck with $1200 rent all by my self. So I have a question, when we originally got the apartment for living and working out of, we could have put it in the business name if we had 3 business references. Since that was going to take 2 days, we decided to put it in my name. But when we did the business he set everything up in the llc and paperwork, I came on at a later date, and signed an agreement between me and him that we were partners, never in front of a lawyer, and we never got it notarized. So here is my question, since I have access to some of the business stuff, tax ID number ect, can I switch the apartment and utilities solely into the business name, and leave? Would they be able to go after my personal credit still, or would it be on my partner and the business? I just want to get out of this mess, but I'm afraid if I switch it, and then he doesn't pay with the business, they will still go after my personal credit. I want to make sure I am legally not binded to the llc since it wasn't done in front of a legal witness, or like I said notarized. If anyone has any advice let me know. $1200 for 4 more months is a lot to handle. Thanks in advance.

[chippa13 1844]

To put it bluntly, I think you're screwed. If you never got the partnership papers notarized then they probably weren't filed anywhere, hence, you're probably not even a legal partner of the business. Too late to change the name on the apartment and I don't think you legally could, regardless. Never put anything in your own name.

[tyler33 0]

I emailed a lawyer to see what he has to say as well. I talked to the people at my apartment complex, they said I could legally sign it over to the business. Obviously they don't know I plan on bailing. But I figure if I legally am not on the business. Because he only has some signed papers, that really aren't official, then i wont be responsible when the apartment complex goes after the business. I am going to see if I can get this switched since I still have the tax ID number.

[Chadd 916]

If you don't have a copy of the agreement, you won't have any standing to make the business responsible for the lease. Even if you do have something regarding a partnership, it still doesn't mean that you have the legal authority to make the change. You're better off rounding up all of the paperwork you can find and talking to a lawyer as soon as possible. Even if you have to pay him it's going to be cheaper than having to go to court over this later.

[flyers10 57]

+1 on speaking to a lawyer. Worth the $50-$100 for 30/60 minutes of their time.

[Rustpot 1]

Is there no way out of the lease? If there is a landlord and you tell them your roommate bailed and moved out and you can't pay wouldn't they rather cut you loose than have a legal hassle and an unrentable place for several months?

[Jason Harris 31]

It doesn't matter whether the papers are notarized. A verbal agreement is just as binding as a written agreement -- just harder to prove. Think of it from the other side. If the business found a cure for cancer, would you be willing to concede all the profits because the agreement wasn't notarized?

Regarding business versus personal, it's not so clearcut as you might think. If the landlord doesn't feel the business has enough history, they might require one of the partners to co-sign on the lease. (Lenders often require this on loans to businesses.)

Finally, to give even more bad news, my sister had a roommate skip out on her years ago. The landlord wouldn't allow her to sublet the apartment. She moved out; they took her to court. The judge applauded her for all her attempts to square the situation but said that, unfortunately, he had to follow the law, so she was liable for back rent (and probably penalties, but I don't remember).

The point I'm making is you've been screwed over by your roommate, but don't make it worse. Either talk to the landlord and hope they'll work something out with you, or find another roommate for the next four months. But don't ruin your credit/name by trying to switch it into the business's name and then bailing.

[chippa13 1844]

Or, as Sam Goldwyn said, "A verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's printed on."

Just found that kind of funny.

[furlanitalia 1]

It seems (aside from your stolen stuff) the biggest concern here is the cost of rent for the next four months. No way you can find a roommate, and maybe (worst case) have them pay a little less then half?

[cougarscaptain87 12]

Regarding business versus personal, it's not so clearcut as you might think. If the landlord doesn't feel the business has enough history, they might require one of the partners to co-sign on the lease. (Lenders often require this on loans to businesses.)

That is going to be a big hurdle to get over, with the economy as it is and how stingy lenders are now, nearly every "loan" which an apartment is considered legally that has a business name attached has to have a actual person co signer as well to secure the loan.

I own a collection agency and one of my main clients is a large chain of landlords and I have heard every story you can imagine. Unfortunately the legally binding agreement was signed at some point, regardless if you intended on your roommate to bail on your or not. My suggestion to you is to talk to the landlord, ASAP and see if they could possibly offer you the option to break the lease early and get a less expensive apartment alone just to stop the bleeding. There are ways to fix your problem but waiting is not the right thing to do. Any other questions feel free to PM me and I can help you out as much as possible.

Sorry to hear about what happened, I've lived alone for 3 years now and I don't think I could go back to having a roommate. I hope your situation gets taken care of as favorably as possible for you.

[tyler33 0]

Hey guys thanks for all the help. I talked with the Management company. I am allowed to find someone to replace my lease, basically I find someone and they finish my lease out. I have been doing some advertising on craigslist, and I have 4 appointments tomorrow. I should be able to push this lease on someone else, because its only 4 months, then I can find a different place out east. I also spoke with my lawyer and he is getting back to me what I have to do to legally get out of the LLC so nothing will ever effect me. Thanks again guys.

[cdoug55 0]

i know this is a bit old, but can i just ask exactly what you signed to make you a member of the LLC? Im a corporate lawyer and although you have already spoken to a lawyer I may be able to help a bit.

[tyler33 0]

Pm'd.