Daniella Devine | How to Analyze Commercial Real Estate Beyond the Property

EPISODE 595: Why Every Commercial Property Should Have Three Plays

Most investors analyze a property by looking at the numbers.

The rents. The expenses. The cap rate.

But what if the biggest opportunity, or the biggest risk, has nothing to do with the building itself?

In this episode of The Real Estate InvestHER Podcast, Liz and Andresa sit down with commercial real estate broker and former planning commissioner Daniella Devine to explore a completely different way of evaluating commercial real estate opportunities.

Daniella shares the story of losing $70,000 on what appeared to be a great midterm rental deal in Bend, Oregon. The property checked all the boxes. The numbers worked. The demand was there.

What she missed was what was happening around the property.

That experience transformed how she evaluates every deal and led her to one of her core investing principles:

Never look for one play on a parcel. Look for three.

Throughout the conversation, Daniella breaks down how investors can move beyond surface-level analysis and begin evaluating the full potential—and hidden risks—of a property by understanding zoning, city planning, surrounding development, and market voids.

She explains why the cap rate is only the beginning of the conversation, how to identify opportunities others overlook, and why understanding highest and best use can dramatically change the value of a deal.

The discussion also explores one of the biggest shifts happening in today's market: the wave of baby boomer-owned commercial properties changing hands and the opportunities available to investors who prioritize relationships over transactions.