What is the name of your state? NJ
I own a gym. Its 5000 square feet and its in a basement which has no heat, no a/c, no handicap accessibility, and no store front...basically, all this space can be is a gym, boxing gym, karate studio, etc...
I bought the business, which has been around for about 11 years prior to my purchase, in June 2004. Membership was around 100-120 members the day I took over. In February/March, after spending thousands on improvements, the membership was now up to 180ish. Business was good!
In April, NW Jersey got a huge amount of rain over saturday April 2nd and Sunday April 3rd. The following Tuesday, April 5th, I noticed water seeping up through the floor. The floor is a raised floor that sits on top of concrete on 2x4's so this means we have 4+ inches of water. I rented a submersible pump and the water pumped out for over 5 days.
Apparently, the building did what it was designed for, a huge drainage pipe directed water under the building into a sump pump hole in the basement. However, the sump pump was removed a few year by the superintendent b/c it was old and broken. Using the logic that they never had water problems, the pump was never replaced, furthermore, the pipes for the pump were even removed. The super installed a new sump pump and new pipes.
The landlord sent his insurance adjuster down claiming the sump pump had broken (b/c he didnt have flood insurance and he assumed that if it was b/c the sump pump broke it would be covered) the adjuster asked to see the broken sump pump which the landlord and super couldn't produce b/c they were lying. The adjuster even saw the new pipes and said that they were lying about the sump pump.
Now the actual damage, carpet, some flooring wasn't the major concern. The gym smelt very earthy, damp, and musky. The major concern was that people stop coming to the gym b/c they speculated that there would be toxic mold. That rumor spread like wildfire and the next rumor was that the state was closing down the gym b/c of the mold. I used a 7% solution of bleach and bleached the entire floor and sub floor daily to kill the mold. This worked very well as there is no more smell or muskiness (but the dampness and smell were very strong for 1-2 months after the flood).
W/ people afraid to sign up for the gym b/c they didnt want to breathe in "toxic mold" and people afraid to commit to a membership b/c they thought were were going to either be shut down by the state or go bankrupt, my business was HURTING. I had poured my heart and sole into this place and it was going great until then.
The landlord refused to help, until I begged him to give me time to fix the carpet and spend some money on advertising to convince ppl that we are open and we are doing fine. He agreed to give me 6 months without rent. I am 2 months into the 6 and I have spent a considerable amount of money on the facility.....This takes me to my question:
What if after 6 months, the business still isn't doing well? I am so scared b/c my father is on the lease and his house is his retirement and I feel that the fact that the business lost money was not in my control.
I owe my dad a good amount of money for the business, which I was paying back at a very very good pace b4 the flood. I just want him paid back and his retirement not in jeopardy... Please help and advise.
I own a gym. Its 5000 square feet and its in a basement which has no heat, no a/c, no handicap accessibility, and no store front...basically, all this space can be is a gym, boxing gym, karate studio, etc...
I bought the business, which has been around for about 11 years prior to my purchase, in June 2004. Membership was around 100-120 members the day I took over. In February/March, after spending thousands on improvements, the membership was now up to 180ish. Business was good!
In April, NW Jersey got a huge amount of rain over saturday April 2nd and Sunday April 3rd. The following Tuesday, April 5th, I noticed water seeping up through the floor. The floor is a raised floor that sits on top of concrete on 2x4's so this means we have 4+ inches of water. I rented a submersible pump and the water pumped out for over 5 days.
Apparently, the building did what it was designed for, a huge drainage pipe directed water under the building into a sump pump hole in the basement. However, the sump pump was removed a few year by the superintendent b/c it was old and broken. Using the logic that they never had water problems, the pump was never replaced, furthermore, the pipes for the pump were even removed. The super installed a new sump pump and new pipes.
The landlord sent his insurance adjuster down claiming the sump pump had broken (b/c he didnt have flood insurance and he assumed that if it was b/c the sump pump broke it would be covered) the adjuster asked to see the broken sump pump which the landlord and super couldn't produce b/c they were lying. The adjuster even saw the new pipes and said that they were lying about the sump pump.
Now the actual damage, carpet, some flooring wasn't the major concern. The gym smelt very earthy, damp, and musky. The major concern was that people stop coming to the gym b/c they speculated that there would be toxic mold. That rumor spread like wildfire and the next rumor was that the state was closing down the gym b/c of the mold. I used a 7% solution of bleach and bleached the entire floor and sub floor daily to kill the mold. This worked very well as there is no more smell or muskiness (but the dampness and smell were very strong for 1-2 months after the flood).
W/ people afraid to sign up for the gym b/c they didnt want to breathe in "toxic mold" and people afraid to commit to a membership b/c they thought were were going to either be shut down by the state or go bankrupt, my business was HURTING. I had poured my heart and sole into this place and it was going great until then.
The landlord refused to help, until I begged him to give me time to fix the carpet and spend some money on advertising to convince ppl that we are open and we are doing fine. He agreed to give me 6 months without rent. I am 2 months into the 6 and I have spent a considerable amount of money on the facility.....This takes me to my question:
What if after 6 months, the business still isn't doing well? I am so scared b/c my father is on the lease and his house is his retirement and I feel that the fact that the business lost money was not in my control.
I owe my dad a good amount of money for the business, which I was paying back at a very very good pace b4 the flood. I just want him paid back and his retirement not in jeopardy... Please help and advise.