The rent quoted on the flyer is the beginning of the conversation, not the end of it.
You find a space quoted at an attractive rate, "NNN." It looks affordable. Then the real invoices start arriving, and your actual occupancy cost is meaningfully higher than the number that got you in the door. Understanding what sits on top of base rent is the difference between a lease that works and one that quietly strains your business.
What "NNN" actually means
NNN stands for triple-net: on top of your base rent, you pay your proportional share of three categories — property taxes, building insurance, and common area maintenance (CAM). In most Atlanta retail, quoted rents are net, meaning those pass-throughs are additional. Depending on the center, they can add a substantial percentage to the headline rate.
The CAM problem
CAM covers the shared costs of running the center — parking lot upkeep, landscaping, lighting, security, management. Two things make it tricky. First, it's usually billed as an estimate and then reconciled after year-end, so a surprise true-up invoice can hit a budget that assumed the estimate was the real number. Second, CAM can grow year over year unless the lease caps how fast it can rise. A cap on controllable CAM increases is one of the most useful things a tenant can negotiate.
The costs the flyer never mentions
Beyond the pass-throughs, two more items shape your true cost. Annual rent escalations compound over the term — a small difference in the escalation rate matters far more across ten years than a small difference in starting rent. And the build-out gap: if the tenant improvement allowance doesn't cover your actual construction cost, the shortfall comes out of your pocket before you've made a single sale.
The number that matters
The figure worth comparing across spaces isn't the quoted rent — it's total cost of occupancy over the full lease term, with base rent, pass-throughs, escalations, and build-out all modeled together. Two spaces quoted a dollar apart per square foot can be tens of thousands of dollars apart in reality. Knowing that before you sign is the whole point of doing the math up front.
This article is general information, not legal, tax, or investment advice — every deal is specific, and I'm a licensed real estate adviser, not an attorney or accountant. If you're working through a real lease or acquisition, let's talk about your situation directly.