The lease doesn't say how a tenant should terminate the lease early, but I think it should be kind of common sense to at least formally discuss with the landlord.

The biggest cause of piercing the corporate veil is not observing corporate formalities. 

Typically you must honor the lease that is in place, but not sure how you formally get the lease "updated" to reflect you as the new landlord.  

Most can't name them, they are usually in Chapter One in a formal real estate educational setting.

As @Marcia Maynard you will not have the courts to turn to in a formal eviction.

@Dean HulsingOnce you understand the environment in which the business operates (local tenant population, average rents, physical and economic vacancy rates, the growth / decline of the local economy, the risk of the local economy (i.e. does most of the tenant population work for a single (cyclical, declining, growing) employer)), then you can compare the business (property) to its peers and evaluate its shortcomings and potential.After the above, you should be able to put a value on the business and, if it looks to be a profitable, long term venture, issue a Letter of Intent (LOI) with your offer and deal framework,  If accepted, you then dig-in and conduct the formal diligence.

Fielding emails and texts are fine, but to work more professionally, I'd like to start using a more formal approach.

Even Especially if you are borrowing from friends and family, you should use formal lending agreements and register the lien against the property (mortgage) to provide security to your lenders.

And it is not customary to pay the lender for the appraisal if a formal appraisal was done. 

In this priticular situation we will be flipping the home so I'm not as concerned about any due on sale clause the sellers mortgage holder might have but I will still go through the formality so I have multiple exit stratugies.