You absolutely can, and you should. It’s up to the two of you to agree on terms. You have the ability to negotiate those terms with her until you reach a compromise you can live with.

YIKES. I’m not an attorney, but that sure as hell sounds like duress to me. While the requirement to pay the leftover total might not be considered unconscionable by a judge, I consider it a huge red flag and would never do business with anyone who had that expectation–especially without a two-way notice.

Absolutely! That’s how rental works! You’re self-employed, renting workspace within a business that leases workspace to beauty professionals. Not only is it legal, it’s highly advisable and necessary! Salon landlords rent to avoid the hassle of having to employ professionals and manage them. Their rental spaces give professionals the ability to run their own small-scale salons without having to invest in a full facility of their own.

Think of it like an office complex. An accountant, lawyer, counselor, and attorney may all share the same roof. They may even share the same front door. They may also share a hallway that links to their offices and a break room, but they each operate their own businesses completely independently. I recommend reading my posts on booth rental for more information on how rental works before you make any decisions, though, so you can fully understand what booth rental (microsalon ownership) means, and what your rights are.

Those property managers are likely also “managing” two dozen or so other properties. I’m not certain, but it’s possible their only responsibility is to handle maintenance complaints and ensure they’re handled in accordance with state commercial landlord/tenant laws and county codes. Like I said, I’m not positive, but that seems to explain why they aren’t dealing with things like rent. Code compliance and safety would be considered more important, since any injuries caused by their lack of attention to those things would be a massive liability for the bank.

Oh, so he’s not actually in default since his own landlord breached the terms of their agreement by allowing the building to go into foreclosure most likely. Right now, he’s likely in a position where the bank hasn’t given him a new lease, so he’s probably not obligated to pay anyone until they do. (I’m absolutely not positive on that whatsoever, but I have heard of this happening before.) If I were you, I’d find a way to contact the bank that holds the property and ask them what their typical protocol is in these situations–whether they waive rent until a new buyer assumes the property, or issue new leases to the current tenants. Foreclosure proceedings are typically very, very slow, so it’s not unheard of for a tenant to wait six months or a year to hear back from the bank about how they’ll proceed. In the meantime, I recommend creating a website using your name as the URL, and start letting clients know you have one. If you ever find yourself showing up and the doors are locked, they’ll know where to find you, and you won’t have violated any standing non-solicitation agreements.