Walk any commercial corridor in the Valley and the signs will quote rents two different ways: one number that sounds high and one that sounds like a bargain. Often the bargain is a triple-net rate, and the difference between the two is the most misunderstood concept in commercial leasing.
In a triple-net (NNN) lease, the tenant pays base rent plus the three "nets": property taxes, building insurance, and common-area maintenance (CAM). In a gross (full-service) lease, the landlord covers those costs inside a single, higher rent. A modified gross lease splits the difference, with the parties negotiating who pays what.
Why the structure matters more in Texas
Texas has no state income tax, which means local governments lean heavily on property taxes. On a commercial building, the tax line is often the single largest operating expense, and in an NNN lease that bill lands on the tenant. Two spaces quoting the same base rent can differ by thousands of dollars a year once the nets are added.
That is not an argument against NNN leases. Landlords price the risk they carry, so gross rents bake in a cushion. Sophisticated tenants sometimes prefer NNN precisely because they pay actual costs rather than a landlord's estimate of them. The point is to compare total occupancy cost, never the quoted rate alone.
Questions to ask before you sign
Ask for the property's current tax bill and a CAM history, not an estimate. Ask whether CAM has a cap, what happens when the county reappraises the property, and who pays for roof and structure, which even many NNN leases leave with the landlord. If the answers are vague, the lease will settle the argument later, and leases are written by landlords.
We represent tenants and landlords across the Valley, so we have seen these negotiations from both chairs. Whichever side you are on, the winning move is the same: put every recurring cost on one spreadsheet before comparing spaces.