All Forum Posts by: Brian O'Neill

Just an FYI for the original poster- I went back to my title company.  Since I wasn't informed of the memorandum of lease at the time of the sale, they were on the hook for resolving my dispute with the laundry company.  That's where I would start.  Good luck- these companies are very shady!

Sorry all for the very very delayed response here!  I've been busy getting my building completely rehabbed.

  To give everyone an update, on the laundry lease situation, I did end up getting the title company involved.  Since I was not notified at the time of sale of an existing recorded lease on my property, the title company was on the hook for resolving the matter with JETZ.  The title company tried their hardest to get me to accept the terms and let this horrible company keep their crappy old equipment on my property, but I refused.  In the end, the title company paid off JETZ to break the lease on my property and remove their equipment.  Everything was recorded, and it's a done deal.  I will say I went through a LOT of extra work and untold amounts of stress and anxiety over being threatened by this unethical company, JETZ for something as small and stupid as a washer and dryer at a 6-plex.  I'll certainly never make that mistake again.  On the upside, I found a great deal on a scratch and dent coin-op washer and dryer from the local Sears outlet.  It's going to take awhile to pay off the $800 or so I spent on them, but the relief of never having to deal with another mobster company like JETZ is well worth it.

Thanks again to everyone here for the very helpful input.  I'll try to do better at keeping up with the forums from now on.

Wayne,

Thanks for the input. The lease was recorded, way back in 1998 when it was first signed by the owner before the last owner. I just think it's so ridiculous that tenant law would afford the same protections to a company's washer and dryer as it would a person. Doesn't seem right that if someone isn't living there, they should be able to claim "renters rights". This kind of agreement with a company should be a contract, not a lease. But if it was, they couldn't try to screw over unsuspecting landlords like me...

Yes, you're right, I made a mistake by not asking. I believe I stated that in the 2nd sentence of my original post.

Thanks so much for all the helpful replies! I think maybe the suggestion to call the competition might be helpful. I would be interested in keeping laundry on site for my tenants, and a 50/50 split might be ok, but there's no way I'm going to do business with this company after all the threats and attempts at intimidation. Like I said before, involving lawyers would be my last resort simply because I don't want the headache of a drawn out legal battle.

Just an update: When I emailed and asked for proof that Jetz had made every reasonable attempt to pay their rent in the last year (Me: "You claim that the rent checks were issued to {previous owner} and returned as undeliverable. {Previous owner} claims that you told them the rent checks were being sent to the owner before them, Mr. ------. If they were being sent to Mr. -------, I'd like to see proof of that. If they were being sent to {previous owner} and returned, I need to see scanned copies of every check, along with proof that the payments were returned as undeliverable before we can proceed. I also need to know how long it's been since any payment has been made for these facilities. I would also like to see your proof of ownership of these machines. As I stated before, I had never heard of your company before receiving your email, and I can find nothing on either machine that would connect them with Jetz Service Co.)

The guy responded with this: "In reading your response it is obvious you're not interested in mitigating the circumstances and accepting our offer. I assume you chose to disregard my suggestion to talk with your title insurance company. If you were unaware of the lease you should have issue with the title company, not Jetz. We are sincerely open to a reasonable resolution but will not will not continue the unproductive back and forth. As I stated before please do not underestimate Jetz Service Company's resolve and willingness to defend and protect our lease rights. If we're forced to seek legal action any potential resolution from that point forward, as per the lease agreement will include any attorney fees and costs we incur."

I recently bought a 6-plex and there was a washer and dryer in the building. Nothing about any contract or lease was mentioned by the seller at the time of closing, and admittedly, I didn't ask what the deal was with them. Now Jetz Service Co. are refusing to remove their washer and dryer from the building and threatening me with legal action if I don't give them building access. The guy from Jetz sent me a lease signed in 1998, by someone who owned the building before the company I bought it from, with a 25% owner /75% Jetz revenue split. He claims it's still valid and in fact just renewed last September until 2018 (automatically renews every 5 years). I had never seen these documents before he sent them, was never informed of the "lease", and have no interest in doing business with the company, mostly due to the guys attempts to threaten and intimidate me into signing documents confirming the validity of his "lease", but also for the fact that the 25%/75% terms are awful. It would be a big money loser for me.

I also recently found out that the previous owner never received any payments from Jetz. Jetz claims that this was because the owner wouldn't sign anything from them, and they tried to send payments, but they were returned as undeliverable. So for at least a year, no payments have been made on their "lease". I am currently asking for proof of these "non-deliverable" payments from them.

I am getting ready to do major renovations on the building, and I don't want to be liable for any damage to the machines that may occur. What is the best way to make them pick up their machines and keep this from going any further? I really don't need the legal expense right now, but it sounds like these companies make a business of being shady and forcing this stuff on unsuspecting property owners.

Thank you! I'm a new user of this site by the way. Glad to know there are helpful people out there!

I recently bought a 6-plex and Jetz Service Co. are refusing to remove their washer and dryer from the building. The guy sent me a lease signed in 1998, by someone who owned the building before the company I bought it from, with a 25% owner /75% Jetz revenue split. He claims it's still valid and in fact just renewed last September until 2018. I had never seen these documents before he sent them, was never informed of the "lease", and have no interest in doing business with the company, mostly due to the guys attempts to threaten and intimidate me into signing documents confirming the validity of his "lease", but also for the fact that those terms are awful.

I am getting ready to do major renovations on the building, and I don't want to be liable for any damage to the machines that may occur. What is the best way to make them pick up their machines and keep this from going any further? I really don't need the legal expense right now, but it sounds like these companies make a business of being shady and forcing this stuff on unsuspecting property owners.

Thank you! I'm a new user of this site by the way. Glad to know there are helpful people out there!