We signed a contract with a property manager for our home in FL. They sold their company to another management company. Are we legally bound to this new company?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
We signed a contract with a property manager for our home in FL. They sold their company to another management company. Are we legally bound to this new company?
We did not sign anything with the new company and we do not like them at all. Do
we have to honor the original contract?
Asked on January 28, 2019 under Real Estate Law, Florida
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
It depends:
1) If the original property management company was a corporation or LLC and the new company bought the actual corporation or LLC, then you are still bound, since the company you signed with still exists and is still in business--it just happens to have new owners--and so the agreement with it is still binding.
2) If the original property management company was not a corporation or LLC, or was one but the new owner did not buy the corporation or LLC, only the assets, then you are still bound to the agreement if the old property manager "assigned"--basically sold--the contract to the new one; commercial services contacts may, as a general matter, by assigned from one business to another.
3) However, the original property management company was not a corporation or LLC, or was one but the new owner did not buy the corporation or LLC, only the assets, AND the contract you signed has a "no assignment" clause or required your consent to assign it, then the new company could not acquire or take it over without you agreeing to let them do this; while contracts are, as stated, generally assignable, they are not if some term or provision in the contract itself bars its assignment. You need to review the contract to see what it says about assigning or transferring it, and if donin so is permitted.
Only in case 3 can you escape the contract.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.