I bought a business last year. The owner provided me with her tax returns to use to justify why to buy and to get my business loan I would need. It showed the store sales at $30,000 and expenses just a few thousand. Being new to the game I took this to my bank and they approved the loan and didn't have any more questions for me or her. Once I got into the nitty gritty I realized that she had not put $8-10,000 worth of consignor pay in her expenses nor had she reported her lease expense($27,000+)or any others for that matter. The expenses came to well over $30,000. Now I have tried to sell the business back to her for $1 as it states in our contract. She told me she was putting that in there in case I decided not to do it so that they could cover the lease(wrong- another lie). Now she is stating that since she doesn't want to work anymore the only option I have is to run it or to close and pay the lease out of pocket. This thing is the movie "Money Pit" reincarnate! I end up shelling out anywhere from $500- 2000 a month to keep it afloat. She is now taking me to court and I have hired a lawyer. My question is since the paperwork she provided me as proof of profit and expenses was falsified~ will our contract hold water? My lawyer is telling me he can get me out of the mess as well as get all my money back but I want to hear some other opinions. I have already put in a request at my bank to get the original paperwork I provided them with in order to purchase the store on the front end. Thanks in advance.

Jennie

I can understand your frustration with this situation. I do believe that your attorney is steering you in the right direction and can get all of your money back for you. Please keep us informed about this.