Before you read
Test yourself first: 5 questions
Question 1 of 5
In a triple-net (NNN) lease, the tenant pays:
Answer: A. In a triple-net lease the tenant covers the 'three nets' — taxes, insurance, and maintenance — on top of base rent. Common in commercial leasing.
Question 2 of 5
A commercial space is leased at $24 per square foot annually. If the unit is 1,500 square feet, what is the monthly rent?
Answer: A. Annual rent = 1,500 x $24 = $36,000; monthly = $36,000 / 12 = $3,000.
Question 3 of 5
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) primarily requires accessibility in:
Answer: A. The ADA addresses access to commercial spaces and public accommodations; fair-housing accessibility for dwellings comes mainly from the Fair Housing Act.
Question 4 of 5
A 'brownfield' is best defined as:
Answer: B. Brownfields are abandoned or underused industrial/commercial properties where redevelopment is complicated by actual or potential hazardous contamination.
Question 5 of 5
A religious organization may give preference to its own members in housing it owns, provided that:
Answer: B. The religious-organization exemption applies only to noncommercial housing and only if membership itself is not restricted by race, color, or national origin.
Keep the streak going with more questions like these, each with a full rationale.
What you need to know
A 2,000 sq ft space at '$24/sq ft/year NNN' costs $48,000 base rent PLUS the tenant's pro-rata share of taxes, insurance, and CAM (common-area maintenance). A GROSS or full-service quote includes them; a MODIFIED gross splits selected items; an EXPENSE STOP caps the landlord's share at a base year, pushing increases to the tenant. Percentage rent adds overage above a natural or negotiated BREAKPOINT: at 5% percentage rent with a $40,000 base, the natural breakpoint is $40,000 ÷ 0.05 = $800,000 in sales. TI (tenant improvement) allowances and free-rent months are concessions that change effective rent.
Commercial Lease Economics: FAQs
Is Commercial Lease Economics on the real estate exam?
Yes. Leasing & Property Management is a scored domain on the real estate licensing exam, and this topic appears in the national portion.
Is this cheat sheet free?
Yes — every page on Cinna RE's resource library is free to read, print and share. The app adds practice questions, mock exams and a readiness score.
