Market notes/Houston, Texas

Notes on reading a deal.

Short commentary from Commercial Connect Group on asking rates, subleases, listing figures and land. Method, not market statistics: where a note uses figures, they come from our listing at 32411 Tamina Rd and say so.

Notes
4
Written
October 2026
By
Commercial Connect Group
Figures from
32411 Tamina Rd, as marketed

Leasing/Rates

Reading an asking rate: what NNN, Modified Gross and Full Service leave out

The same suite can be quoted three ways. Until two quotes sit on the same basis, the lower number is not the lower cost.

A rate is a number plus a lease type

An asking rate tells you the base rent. The lease type tells you what that rent covers. Under NNN, the tenant pays its share of property taxes, building insurance and common area maintenance on top of the rate. Under Full Service, most of those costs sit inside the rate. Modified Gross sits between the two, and exactly where is written in the lease's expense clause, not in the listing.

Who usually pays what

CostNNNModified GrossFull Service
Base rentIn the rateIn the rateIn the rate
Property taxesTenant, on top of the rateOften in the rate; increases may pass throughIn the rate; increases over a base year usually pass through
Building insuranceTenant, on top of the rateOften in the rateIn the rate
Common area maintenanceTenant, on top of the rateVaries; read the expense clauseIn the rate
Utilities and janitorialTenantOften the tenantUsually in the rate

Typical splits, not rules. The expense clause in the lease decides who pays what.

Put two quotes on one basis

To compare an NNN quote with a gross one, add the estimated operating expenses to the NNN rate. The total is an estimate, not a promise: operating expenses are billed on an estimate and reconciled against actual costs, usually once a year.

Asking/Sublease rate

$13.50/SF/yr NNN

Est. operating expenses$4.69/SF/yr

Asking NNN plus est. opex$18.19/SF/yr

Approx. per month, 7,830 SF$11,869

32411 Tamina Rd, Suites D, E & F, as marketed in October 2026. Operating expenses are an estimate based on the master lease projection, subject to annual reconciliation.

Three questions before you compare

  1. 01What does the rate leave out? Ask for the operating expense estimate and the list of costs it covers.
  2. 02Is the estimate a projection or a history? A budget for next year and last year's actual costs are different numbers.
  3. 03Who carries structure and roof? At 32411 Tamina Rd the landlord retains structural and roof. The NNN label alone does not tell you that.

Leasing/Subleases

Subleases: what to read before you tour

A sublease can hand you finished space with no finish-out to pay for. It also hands you the terms of someone else's lease, so read that lease before the tour.

The master lease sets the limits

A sublease sits inside the lease between the owner and the current tenant. Its term cannot run past that lease, your use has to fit its use clause, and most leases require the owner's written consent before a sublease starts. Our listing at 32411 Tamina Rd says so on its face: the sublease runs through 3/31/2031, and any sublease is subject to the master landlord's written approval.

Ask for these before you tour, with 32411 Tamina Rd as the example

ItemWhy it mattersAt 32411 Tamina Rd
TermThe sublease ends on or before the master leaseThrough 3/31/2031
ConsentThe owner approves in writing; ask how long that takesMaster landlord's written approval required
UseYour use has to fit the master lease's use clauseMarketed as flex and light distribution, office plus warehouse
ExpensesHow operating expenses pass through, and on what estimateNNN; est. $4.69/SF/yr from the master lease projection
Structure and roofWho repairs them, and who paysLandlord retains structural and roof
Finish-outWhat is already built and comes with the spaceTurnkey office: seven private offices, conference room, kitchen, reception
RestorationWhat has to come out at the end of the termTo confirm
SignageBuilding and door signage rightsTo confirm

Who you are dealing with

In most subleases you sign with the current tenant, not the owner. The current tenant stays liable to the owner under the master lease, which is why the owner's consent matters to both sides. Before you sign, know who handles repairs day to day and who you call when something breaks.

Private office with full-wall built-in wood millwork in Suites D, E and F at 32411 Tamina Rd
IncludedOne of the seven private offices in Suites D, E & F, with built-in millwork.

Method/Listing figures

Why our listings print To confirm instead of a number

A blank cell invites a guess, and a guess on a flyer becomes a fact in someone's spreadsheet. So a figure nobody has verified prints as To confirm.

Where a figure has to come from

Every figure on a listing should trace to a source: a measurement, the owner's documents, the lease or a survey. Until one of them settles it, the figure prints To confirm. That is not a gap in the listing. It tells you what is still open and what will close it.

32411 Tamina Rd, as listed in October 2026

FigureWhat settles itListed as
AvailableThe lease and the owner's documents7,830 SF, full block only
Clear heightA measurement20 ft
Drive-in doorsA measurement, confirmed by the owner12 ft, grade level (owner-confirmed, Oct 2026)
Year builtThe owner's documents2024
Asking rateThe sublandlord$13.50/SF/yr NNN, ASKING
Operating expensesThe master lease projectionEst. $4.69/SF/yr
AcreageA surveyTo confirm
FrontageA surveyTo confirm
True northA surveyTo confirm

When a figure changes

It changes on every piece at once: flyer, door sign and listing page. The drive-in doors at 32411 Tamina Rd are listed at 12 ft, grade level, as confirmed by the owner in October 2026, and every piece carries that one figure.

What To confirm is not

It is not a soft way to skip a number we would rather not print. A known figure prints, favorable or not. To confirm means nobody has verified it yet, and the listing says what will verify it.

Aerial of the three-building park at 32411 Tamina Rd with the park outlined and a legend marking Building B location, acreage and north as To confirm
PlateThe aerial from the Tamina Rd listing. The legend carries what the frame cannot show: Building B location, acreage and north print To confirm.

Land/5+ acres

Land of 5 acres and up: what to confirm before anyone names a price

A price per acre means little until the survey, access, utilities, floodplain and restrictions are known. Those five usually decide what a tract is worth, so they come first.

Five things that decide a tract, in the order they usually come up

No.ConfirmWhat it settles
01SurveyBoundary, acreage, easements and encroachments. Until a survey settles it, acreage prints To confirm.
02AccessFrontage, curb cuts and driveway permits, and whether the road can carry trucks.
03UtilitiesWater, sewer and power at the property line, and the capacity behind them.
04FloodplainThe flood zone on the current FEMA map, and the detention a site plan will need.
05RestrictionsDeed restrictions and covenants on use. Houston has no zoning ordinance, so these often decide what a tract can become.

Why the order matters

Easements and floodplain can take ground that a price per gross acre still counts. Access and utilities decide what can be built and how soon. Restrictions decide what is allowed at all. A price set before these are known tends to be renegotiated after them.

What we ask a seller for first

The most recent survey, the title commitment if there is one, any letters from utility providers and the recorded deed restrictions. Whatever is missing goes on the listing as To confirm.

Drone aerial over the industrial park at 32411 Tamina Rd in Magnolia, looking across the pine canopy
ContextThe drone frame from our Tamina Rd listing in Magnolia. It is not a land listing: an aerial shows access and surroundings, never acreage.

Ask about a deal

Have a rate, a sublease or a tract to read? Send it to Jacob Dow.

Send the quote, the lease or the survey. You get a plain read on what it covers and what it leaves out.

Jacob Dow

Jacob Dow

Senior Commercial Advisor

(832) 770-8865

jacob@dowreg.com