So I have this dilemma regarding my Christian principles. Back in February, my wife and I realized that there wasn't a Christian book store in our entire county. We got to talking and we realized that there was very little Christian activity that wasn't denomination/church specific. Part of the calling we have felt in our lives has been in relation to our local community -- at lease in regard to the fact that our community seems to be in a downward spiral in a lot of areas. We felt led to engage in intercessory prayer for the community, and have since started fellowshipping with a small group outside of church that comprises of a few family members and friends. Call it a ministry if you will... very loosly defined.

Anyway, as we were praying about the community, it came to both of us that the local coffee shop had sold to new owners. The comments we made to each other at the time were, "Gee if we only knew, that would have been perfect to combine with a retail Christian bookseller, etc..." We continued to pray and pray, and at the end of April, the former owner of the coffee shop and still owner/landlord of that building called me out of the blue. We've been friends for 20+ years, but didn't talk a whole lot necessarily. He was upset about how things had gone south with the new owners of the coffee shop, and how he had a hostile tenant situation... pretty much just venting. He actually wanted to know if I had heard any of the 'rumors' that she had been starting about him in town. I hadn't actually heard anything and told him such.

I asked him if there was anything I could do to help, and he responded, "Yeah, buy the building from me." He's a super nice guy who is really conflict averse -- to the point of letting people walk all over him.

I asked how much and he tossed out a # of $200,000. I wasn't interested in that price but told him that I would keep it in mind. A week later he called me back to ask if I was serious about the building and he would sell it to me for $100,000, and he would transfer all her promissory note financing for the business to me ($25,000 or so). The building is 5500 square feet and is one of the nicest buildings in the downtown are of our county seat.

I accepted the offer on the spot. The coincidences of this and the offer was too great for me to ignore.

Financing was simple. It's an easy deal. I put $20K into the place and my monthly payment is next to nothing.

The tenant has violated multiple provisions of her purchase contract, promissory note, and lease. I am buying all of the contracts as-is, including her default status on everything from unauthorized installations to the property, to failure to provide insurance certification of loss payee and additional insured to the property owner. She's removed collateral assets from the property against contract, etc... She's been warned multiple times, and yet fails to comply with any of these demands. My attorney says it's an open and shut case of eviction and repossession and she even has a no protest covenant in her agreements in the event of default on agreements.

Now... here's the dilemma.

The current owner is a very tormented person. She has never owned anything for herself, and the owner carried back all the financing for her because he took pity -- NO MONEY DOWN AND ZERO PERCENT INTEREST ON THE NOTE! I bought it at a discount from him to even get a return on the paper! She has nothing invested in this except for 6 monts of payments at $350 a month for the note payment and $400 a month in rent. She's not a business person and the business has whittled down since the old owners sold it. He was a good marketing person and had a solid business acumen. She's tried to copy his formula, but it's just not working.

She's got an aura about her that just seeths anger and I wouldn't put it past her to even be violent. She's got a domestic violence prior from her first marriage. Very messed up person. Screams at the top of her lungs in front of customers, etc... Her current husband is a very 'meek' guy who bows down to her in every fashion. She made him quit his job (a pretty good one from what I understand) because working at the coffee shop was too hard for her by herself and her 3 employees (??!?!?). I hear it was really because she found out that this rather attractive, known girl in town started working at the guy's company and they had been 'talking'... be that as it may, the coffee shop is her only source of income and she has school aged kids.

Yet, she refuses to comply with the provisions of agreements that she herself helped to create and signed. I am a zero tolerance kind of person when it comes to contracts, especially blatant, willful breaches.

She's likely to sink anyway when she runs the business into the ground to the point of not being able to pay her debts (to me). At that point, if I stepped in, I would have a much harder time bringing it back to life (even though she is contracted to preserve the goodwill asset of the company).

So do I evict this woman for her failure to comply, theft of assets, destruction of property, etc? I have every legal right to do so.

However, she has children, etc....

Maybe she should just go and get a job, saving her all the stress of failure later down the road.

I feel in my heart that this primo situation was handed to me in such an extremely coincidental fashion (or not since we were praying in earnest about such things).

I just don't want to be unChristian about my actions.

I know 0ldGuy, my Jewish brothers are going to tell me to kick the loser to the curb.

My thoughts are business is business, not charity.  A business may be used to support charitable actions, but if a business is run like a charity, it can't survive.

She has taken advantage of the previous owner's good nature and avoided consequences for actions that she is responsible for.

Letting her slide on these issues will not bring a good end to any parties involved, including her.

The way I look at it, you were given a vision for something your community needs and then the means to enable it.

She is responsible for the consequences of her decisions, not you.

Just my thoughts.  If it makes sense to you, you can tell her this doofus in South Carolina told you to do it.

You don't play nice with the devil or those he possesses.



Sgat1r5

Awww, dude!  Keep us Jews outta this....

Quoted: You don't play nice with the devil or those he possesses. Sgat1r5

Very percept of you Sarge.

They have started catering heavily to the goth contingent in our community (which consists of about 50 teenagers/young adults). I understand that a lot of highly creative people are in and around the goth scene -- and coffee shops cater to creative types. But we're not talking about upstanding members of our community. It's a really negative scene.

We had more of the vision of providing a place for the many small groups and bible study teams that are in every church which typically meet in each other's homes. It's hard to meet regularly in private homes.

Meanwhile, the evening business is non-existant except for the music/open mic nights that attract all the vampire kids.

I was basing it on the way you described her.  It is evident she is very sinful.  So helping her would only be helping evil IMHO.

Sgat1r5

I was basing it on the way you described her. It is evident she is very sinful. So helping her would only be helping evil IMHO.

Sgat1r5

_______________________________________________________________________

For some reason, Sgat1r5, that doesn't seem to fit to a better way to approach the situation.  As a Jew, the person of Jesus frequented sinners and spoke to them compassionately according to the Gospels.

Would it not be more prudent for him to similarly approach this woman and make known of his plight, and his problem with her, that they may both interact to correct and remedy the situation for a win-win course of action?  

Ed

Quoted: I was basing it on the way you described her. It is evident she is very sinful. So helping her would only be helping evil IMHO. Sgat1r5 _______________________________________________________________________ For some reason, Sgat1r5, that doesn't seem to fit to a better way to approach the situation.  As a Jew, the person of Jesus frequented sinners and spoke to them compassionately according to the Gospels. Would it not be more prudent for him to similarly approach this woman and make known of his plight, and his problem with her, that they may both interact to correct and remedy the situation for a win-win course of action?   Ed

Hence my dilemma.

She's already wrought up with anger over the fact that we bought the building -- which I can't understand why because she hated the old owner. I honestly don't even know if she'd talk to me at this point, and I am certiainly not going to put myself into a risky situation with her propensity for raging outbursts.

Quoted: I was basing it on the way you described her. It is evident she is very sinful. So helping her would only be helping evil IMHO. Sgat1r5 _______________________________________________________________________ For some reason, Sgat1r5, that doesn't seem to fit to a better way to approach the situation.  As a Jew, the person of Jesus frequented sinners and spoke to them compassionately according to the Gospels. Would it not be more prudent for him to similarly approach this woman and make known of his plight, and his problem with her, that they may both interact to correct and remedy the situation for a win-win course of action?   Ed

He already spoke to her several times and she continues ripping him off.


Jesus didn't waste time on those that didn't want His message.

ANd would you PLEASE learn board code.


or at least click the button that says "QUOTE" when you want to quote someone.

Sgat1r5

I was basing it on the way you described her. It is evident she is very sinful. So helping her would only be helping evil IMHO.

Sgat1r5

_____________________________________________________________

Gut reactions, as this seems to be, lend themselves toward a critical review of content.

Note...we often hear of, say, movie "critics" that offer a biased view, and has lent the term as being confrontational.  I refer to the term "critic" as an intellectual review.

Given your comment, however, that "...helping her would only be helping evil IMHO" is harsh, at the least.

Perhaps all this "evil" is hiding under your bed.  

FWIW a Christian bookstore/coffee house went out of business in Falls Church VA. (it was in the same building as my old office)

Seems like a lot of people bought coffee there....

This was an excellent, high traffic location with outstanding visibility and parking.

YMMV

Quoted: Perhaps all this "evil" is hiding under your bed.

You don't believe evil exist or that the devil is behind it?

Sgat1r5

Seems the lord gave you this chance and even worked out the details for you. Are you going to quit trusting him now? Pray about it, if it his will you start right away she will leave. Everytime I try to speed up Gods timing I screw things up. He may not be ready for you to start just yet. If you are truly going to run this business with the lord as boss man things will work out. Heck he may be getting a decent place ready for her to go. I know you don't want to turn her out into the street. Maybe this is a wait on the lord drill. Good luck and prayers sent.

That's actually what I am starting to think. Timing... wait....

Novagator.... I have next to no overhead on this thing. My monthly mortgage payment on the entire building is $607. I bought her $25K promisory note for all the business assets for $10K cash.

We were considering living in the upstairs loft space (which is pretty nice).

You don't believe evil exist or that the devil is behind it?

Sgat1r5

______________________________________________________________________

I do believe evil exists...one needs to see only a few minutes of CNN to realize this.  That being said, what is the devil, as you propose as this causative relationship?

In Hebrew scripture, the term "shattan" is used.  This was later translated into Satan.  The difference is absolute, for in Hebrew the term is translated into "adversary", meaning the adversarial relationship each of us has with their better personality.  Conversely, the term "Satan" has often been used to identify some external focus that has caused us to turn away from G-d, or otherwise do evil.

That gets back to what is sometimes said as "...we have seen the enemy, and we are it."

To dump this crap we do unto others on a being that doesn't exist is to deny our own failings.


Ed

Quoted: Seems the lord gave you this chance and even worked out the details for you. Are you going to quit trusting him now? Pray about it[snip]

Best advice so far, BenDover.  It sounds like God has the plan nailed down and has given you quite a bit of guidance along the way.  In my experience, He doesn't tell you what you need to know until you need to know it.  It really pisses me off sometimes, but it seems that's how it is.    I can't count the number of times I've been at my wit's end trying to figure out God's will in my life when it's come down to the wire and He's shown me exactly what I need to do.  "daily bread" and all.

He will tell you what needs done, and I will pray that the telling is clear to your ears.

I would toss her out, but hey I have kicked people out the day before Thanksgiving, so consider the source.

BTW, I don't know any Biblical argument that says to be foolish in business dealings.  Sounds like the purchase was wise, but to allow her to continue would be foolish.

Quoted: So do I evict this woman for her failure to comply, theft of assets, destruction of property, etc? I have every legal right to do so. However, she has children, etc....

Tough one but look at it like this. Give her a chance to make it right. If she continues to mess up she obviously isnt taking her children into consideration and is a violent selfish person. You want to open a Christian bookstore and the enemy has thown up a roadblack. He dont want the store there.

Do the Christian thing and have a good talk with her and explain that you are compassionate and will take things into consideration. Remind her that she needs to take things into consideration as well such as her children and her failure to comply will be on her own head. Make it perfectly clear in a tactful way that you will do what you have to if she fails to comply.

And pray lots and lots about it. Especially for her its obvious she needs it.

Maybe some of the lost will walk over from the cofee shop and look at the good book?  HAving a Christian bookstire in an area frequented by the lost is great. Remember its not your shop anyways, its Gods.


Just remember God is in control and He always gets what He wants.

First up, what a great opportunity for you BenDover. I really wish you well in this endeavour. If you need any kind of help with any business logos or the looks of business materials shoot me an IM.

OK, business aside  

I'm sure you already are, but I have to agree with jcncc- hit your knees and pray He'll put the answer on your heart. It probably won't be the easy way but it'll be the right way- at least that's how it always works out for me.

+1 too on Ekie's "I don't know any Biblical argument that says to be foolish in business dealings."

Quoted: Quoted: So do I evict this woman for her failure to comply, theft of assets, destruction of property, etc? I have every legal right to do so. However, she has children, etc.... Tough one but look at it like this. Give her a chance to make it right. If she continues to mess up she obviously isnt taking her children into consideration and is a violent selfish person. You want to open a Christian bookstore and the enemy has thown up a roadblack. He dont want the store there. Do the Christian thing and have a good talk with her and explain that you are compassionate and will take things into consideration. Remind her that she needs to take things into consideration as well such as her children and her failure to comply will be on her own head. Make it perfectly clear in a tactful way that you will do what you have to if she fails to comply. And pray lots and lots about it. Especially for her its obvious she needs it. Maybe some of the lost will walk over from the cofee shop and look at the good book?  HAving a Christian bookstire in an area frequented by the lost is great. Remember its not your shop anyways, its Gods. Just remember God is in control and He always gets what He wants.

Good post!

BTW there's a neat little coffeeshop/used bookstore in Myrtle Beach that I've been to a couple of times. Neat place, and a great concept. There's something about both types of store that attracts a very hip crowd, and having one that does both (add in a Wi-Fi hotspot and you'll be in even better shape) is a great concept.

Just want to go on record saying this type of thread is EXACTLY why I thought the religion thread is a good idea. Right now in GD it would be 50 pages of prove god is real. prove he isnt prove he is prove he isnt blah blah blah.

Quoted: Just want to go on record saying this type of thread is EXACTLY why I thought the religion thread is a good idea. Right now in GD it would be 50 pages of prove god is real. prove he isnt prove he is prove he isnt blah blah blah.

In all honesty this thread could have been posted in GD without the mention of Christian principles and you would have gotten much the same answers.

Everything is working out, just as planned.

Your delima, is it with the outcome or the decision? Although both are one and the same, you need to ask yourself why are you questioning the outcome if you already have the decision.

You know you want to kick'er to the curb because she is a hateful tenant. You have searched and found many reasons to boot her. If you are worried about the outcome, then you should not even bother making the decision.

You have been blessed with everything you need.

Everything is working out, just as planned.

Your delima, is it with the outcome or the decision? Although both are one and the same, you need to ask yourself why are you questioning the outcome if you already have the decision.

You know you want to kick'er to the curb because she is a hateful tenant. You have searched and found many reasons to boot her. If you are worried about the outcome, then you should not even bother making the decision.

You have been blessed with everything you need.

_______________________________________________________

Just as planned, or pre-ordained?  Your reply is not clear.

If pre-ordained, then nothing we do, either in this forum or our lives, has any meaning at all.

I can admire the simplicity of your position...it is sweet, comfy and cudly.  Though if you were to give thought to this, you would find that...never mind...no thought, so no action required...as in the same traps of errors will occur, with mind enslavement trivializing them into just another experience to offer upon.

I wish my tax situation was so simple-minded.  

~P.S.

You probably give more thought to your tax situation than the lame premise you started with.

Dude...become aware.  

Quoted: Quoted: Just want to go on record saying this type of thread is EXACTLY why I thought the religion thread is a good idea. Right now in GD it would be 50 pages of prove god is real. prove he isnt prove he is prove he isnt blah blah blah. In all honesty this thread could have been posted in GD without the mention of Christian principles and you would have gotten much the same answers.

True but some see the word Christian in GD they do off the deep end sometimes and turns into a whole war about proving each other wrong.

i haven't read all of the responses, so forgive me if i repeat something already said.

it sounds like you live in a small town.  if/when you throw her out, she will tell people all over town how "that guy who runs the Christian book store took my business and threw me out on the street, etc., etc."

i'm not saying 'don't do it', rather, just be aware of what will likely happen so that you aren't surpised.

time for a reality check.......

gee I don't see a problem evicted her........she is the one that put hereself in that situation, not you.......so she has kids, so what? people get tossed out of their houses, evicted, fired everyday for their action, or lack of action, that have kids, wives, bills etc...

unless you want to be a door mat,  I would toss her ass out.......believe me the bank would have no problem foreclosing on you in a heart beat if you don't pay your note.........and I bet there are plenty "christians" that work there that would have no problem foreclosing on a "christian" dead beat.............it's business, pure and simple, don't make it out anymore then that.  that "meek shall inhert the earth", and "I am my brother keeper" nonesense is great if you want to be a door mat to everybody, that takes advanatage of your weakness. if you can't handle the eviction of this dead beat, maybe you shouldn't have bought the property in the first place.

as for the comment about her spreading the rumors of her getting evicted by you........big deal, would you rather be known as a door mat who doesn't have a pair.....believe me in a small town word will get around that she is playing you like a cheap fiddle, and you are just bending over and taking it.  because more then likely she will be bragging how she is getting over on you.......your call.......astutue businessman, or a no balls door mat.

Nobody is telling Bendover to be a doormat. In areas that need a compassion show compassion in areas that require strength show strength . IMHO doing the right thing is not a job for a doormat. Let the Holy spirit lead you will not go wrong.

We have a lot of touchie feelie churches these days it's no wonder a lot of people think being a Christian means being a doormat. Trust me God does not want or need doormats.

I really appreciate everyone's thoughts in this matter. Everyone has brought some good ideas and thoughts to the table.

TomJefferson, you put an interesting perspective in front of me. Maybe God is using this situation to fix somthing in THEIR lives... who knows...

I am reminded of the parable of the 5 talents. There's a lot of scripture in the Bible which refers to good stewardship and management of money. God wants his people to manage what they have been given. I am very keen on this.

I just don't want to go into this without acting within God's will. The path really does seem clear, and ultimately, I tell myself that if God wanted me to move to Uganda and milk goats, it would be the most difficult thing I could ever imagine, but I'd like to say that I would do it.

Quoted: I do believe evil exists...one needs to see only a few minutes of CNN to realize this.  That being said, what is the devil, as you propose as this causative relationship? In Hebrew scripture, the term "shattan" is used.  This was later translated into Satan.  The difference is absolute, for in Hebrew the term is translated into "adversary", meaning the adversarial relationship each of us has with their better personality.  Conversely, the term "Satan" has often been used to identify some external focus that has caused us to turn away from G-d, or otherwise do evil. That gets back to what is sometimes said as "...we have seen the enemy, and we are it." To dump this crap we do unto others on a being that doesn't exist is to deny our own failings. Ed

One of the biggest triumphs of Satan/Lucifer/the devil is getting people to not believe in him anymore.  Why be on guard against someone you don't believe exists?

Are you familiar with the references to Lucifer in Scripture?  If not, look them up.  It's not just a New Testament thing.

Do you think the story of Eve being tempted by the serpent in the garden was a metaphor for a struggle with her conscience?

When we make wrong choices we can't just use, "The devil made me do it" as a cop-out, but that does not negate an active, personal being, a fallen angel, who is working in opposition to God's purposes.


Back to Ben:

Absolutely keep this covered in prayer.  I'll send some your way, too.  After sleeping on this, I'm thinking you don't have to force God's will.  You just need to stay out of His way and let Him do His thing.

If her business is failing, it's not your doing.  Who knows what means He'll use to vacate the building?

I gave this some thought last night and came up with two possible courses of action. Well, three, but the third is just "Stay the course and hope she'll come around", which isn't an option IMHO.

1: Witness to her and tell her that you'll do whatever you can - short of forgiving debt (she has to learn a lesson, and a freebie wouldn't do it), to help her out. Pray hard- you'll need all the help you can get. Maybe she'll come around and be a good witness herself?

2: You have the legal right to give her the boot. Contact a lawyer, foreclose on enough business machinery to cover her debt, and kick her out. You do have the legal right to do so. Then re-start the business as your own and run it with a better business model.

I hadn't made up my mind but as I typed this I really started favoring option 1. Maybe this is your challenge, Ben.

UPDATE.

We closed on the property on August 26th.

I had my law firm send a letter to the tenants, which notified them of the sale of the property, gave them the new payment information, requested that they update their business owner's policy to reflect us as the additional insured on the property, and also notifying them that we were scheduling an asset audit to verify the existence and condition of the collateral of the note.

So she panicked and sent it over to her attorney, who was a real rectum. Rectum, I nearly killed him! This imbicile wanted to immediately launch into negotiations about my rights to enter the premisis, etc... crying a river sob story about how the old owner was such a bad man, etc.... These conversations didn't end well, and I turned it over to my law firm. After the dust settled, I had a date and time for our asset audit, and went in to talk to the tenant. I prayed and prayed about how to handle the situation, and was really set to be a hard-ass about everything since they had gone the extra mile to piss me off upfront. Walking into the front door, I was set to do battle.... but still open to what God wanted. I opened my mouth to speak to the tenant and her husband, and my demeanor immediately changed. The words that came out of my mouth were perfectly crafted with kindness -- and I am not sure that I was completely in control of the communication exchange. I just sort of went with it. The next hour was very cordial, and ended on a very positive note.

Since then, there have been a couple of additional interactions, which have all been very positive. I have also heard through the grapevine that they had commented to someone in the community how they liked their new landlords.

So meanwhile, Tweet and I set about doing the rehab to the second floor where we have now taken up residence. It's still not done and there's enough to keep me busy for the entire winter.

This is where it starts to get very interesting.

The very back of the building is our kitchen. We have awesome windows which overlook the back alley, and down the hill over the tree-lined neighborhood streets of the south part of town. It's really a nice view.... until the really, really poor people start foraging for whatever they can find in the garbage cans in the alley. I have a straight shot view of the garbage cans of the Lutheran Social Services thrift store called the Once Around Shop. People aren't supposed to leave things in the alley but they drop giveaway donated items off at all hours anyway. The shop keeps banker's hours, which means a lot of stuff sits in the alley waiting for the staff to get it. Weekends are the busiest because they don't open at all. Stuff piles up, and the poorest of poor people know that it's back there. These are people who are too poor to even buy things in the thrift shop at deeply discounted prices. Once woman came by, walking down the alley in her bare feet, stopping to forage through one of the dumpsters and pull out a pair of shoes, which she promptly put on her feet and kept walking.

That's how poor these people are.

And this is all right out my kitchen window in the alley below. I cannot go to the refrigerator and make myself a big stuffed ham sandwich without looking at these people -- or the dumpsters if people aren't there. I am still reminded everytime I look out that window.

So here I am thinking that all my work in the community is related to the front of the building, when the real spiritual and community need is in the alleyway out back. I don't know exactly what my role is in all of this yet, but I am praying and listening.

Funny how God works isn't it.

thanks for the update

btw, nothing says you can't do both :)

Hey man... it's God's rollercoaster. I am just strapped on for the ride.

If He wants both from/for me, then it will become apparent.

In the interim, it would take an extreme fool to not recognize the priority that has been manifested.

Think about it.

What are the odds that it's my KITCHEN window? Not my bedroom window. Not my living room window.

There's a certain irony in this.

Thanks for the update... and the followup ...!

Wow.

I'm sure the days and years ahead will be interesting to say the least.

Following God is many things, but boring isn't one of them.

Just make sure you keep pace with Him and don't run ahead too far.

Pretty crazy isn't it.