An understanding of the nature of property is imperative because at the heart of many transactions is the acquisition, rights to possession of use, or sale of personal or real property. Clearly, these transactions are central to many businesses and the livelihoods of the people involved in the business. When thinking about acquiring property, it is important to know not only whether the property is "right" for [you] or for your business but also about the rights and duties associated with acquiring it, the protections afforded to you by law as the owner of it, and how to transfer it to another party at the time of sale, lease, or licensing the right to use. Additionally, liability often attaches to property, and limiting one's liability is at the heart of what your study of law should encourage you to do.

Ohlone Retail Lease

This is a sample retail lease contract drafted for this homework assignment. It is fairly accurate. It shows what you might see in an actual commercial retail lease contract,including how much property along Mission Boulevard might have leased for immediately prior to COVID.

Note, however, that the dates regarding the notice may not reflect reality. Most contracts are often created from sample forms created by companies or their associations and are correspondingly written in favor of sellers and landlords. I drafted this lease agreement in a way that is slightly less pro-seller/pro-landlord, and I also excluded some additional provisions that you might see in more involved contracts.

This assignment draws upon the knowledge you gained in both Chapter 6 and Chapter 8.

file:///Users/bbygirlabbi/Downloads/8%20(SKIM%20AND%20ANALYZE)%20Ohlone%20Shopping%20Center%20Retail%20Lease.pdf

After reviewing the above PDF, imagine the following scenario. Ohlone College sold some land to a development company, for purpose of building a mixed-use shopping complex, adding to the historic Mission San Jose Town Center area. It is the fall of 2019, and your name is "OHLONE ALUMNI ENTREPRENEUR" and you want to set up shop in this shopping center, located at 888 OHLONE BOULEVARD in Fremont, CA. You plan to earn money selling apparel created by artists, designers, and small businesses local to the Fremont Tri-City area. This commercial retail lease agreement was executed on Tuesday, September 3, 2019, between you and "OHLONE LANDLORD PROPERTIES."

Prior to this, you had asked your legal counsel to answer some questions you had about the negotiated lease provisions.

Assume: (1) You have no memory problems such that you very clearly remember the answers that your lawyer provided to each of your questions; and (2) You retained a competent lawyer who correctly answered your questions.

With these givens, how did your lawyer answer the below questions when you them -

1. I recall vaguely in my Business Law class that I once took at Ohlone College that leasehold interests may be created in real property. But please confirm with me. What type of tenancy is being created by this contract? And how is this type of tenancy different than the other types of tenancies that can be created?
2. The month is October, and the year is 2019. Assuming the grand opening for my store occurs by October 31, 2019, what would be the Expiration Date for this Lease Term?
3. I recall vaguely in my Business Law class that sometimes lease interests can be transferred and conveyed to a third party. Does this contract allow me to immediately transfer my lease interests to a third party right now?
4. I recall vaguely in my Business Law class something about fee simple this or fee simple thatownership interests that people have in property. What type of ownership interest does OHLONE LANDLORD PROPERTIES have? Complete? Or is it defeasible? I'm not a subtenant, right?
5. I recall vaguely in my Business Law class that landlords also owe different duties to different people, but I do recall distinctly that a customer would be an invitee. But does that mean that OHLONE LANDLORD PROPERTIES is always liable if one of my customers gets hurt in my store? For instance, say one of my employees, an Ohlone student, mops the floor but forgets to put one of those yellow "caution" signs notifying customers that the floor is wet and because of the super wet floor one of my customers slips and falls and injures herself and decides to sue me under the premises liability theory. The landlord would be liable too, right? (HINT: Skim the lease agreement to find the relevant contract provision.)