How to Buy a Business Already Under a Lease Agreement with a Third Party

[Sandy Sonju Cutchin]

My question involves business law in the state of: Maryland

I'm looking at buying a business. They've had it on the market for over 2 years, but nobody has been able to get financing until now. Because the couldn't sell it, the owners, who are older, decided to lease it to an individual. We really would like to buy the business, but what kind of pitfalls and headaches can we expect from the person leasing it? We don't want to continue the lease- we want the business with no strings. Is this going to be more of a headache than we are prepared for? Can we cancel a lease agreement? The brokers are trying to give all this "happy crap" about how much easier it will be to let somebody else handle the day to day and we just sit back and let the cash fall from heaven. We're not about to even remotely think about keeping the lease. Any advice?

[jk]

Unless the owners put some clause that allowed them or a subsequent purchaser of the property the right to terminate the lease upon a sale of the property, the lease remains intact until its natural expiration.

So, ask the owners if there is such a clause in the lease. If there isn't, it sounds like you need to walk away from this situation.