8 questions with real estate investor, entrepreneur, and digital nomad Sarah Weaver

By Lauren Zumbach from Story by J.P. Morgan

Sarah Weaver’s third rental property acquisition took long-distance investing to a new extreme: She bought the Omaha, Nebraska, fourplex sight unseen from 8,000 miles away in New Zealand.

That might sound risky to some investors, but to Weaver, who has been managing her investments from the road as a digital nomad for about three years, “what would have been riskier would be to leave my life in New Zealand, fly to Nebraska, knock on doors, go to showings and essentially waste that (travel) time.”

Weaver, who grew up in Overland Park, Kansas, got her start in real estate as an agent but quickly realized she wanted a career that would let her travel the world. She took a remote job at a real estate recruiting company and bought her first rental property in 2017. Since then, she’s built a portfolio of 19 units in Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and Missouri while traveling internationally in New Zealand, Indonesia, Guatemala and more.

During that time, Weaver also launched several real estate-related businesses, including ones offering coaching, retreat event planning and property management services. She’s also built a following on Instagram, where she shares her journey as a traveler and investor.  

Weaver spoke with Story about how she manages properties as a digital nomad, the perks and challenges of life on the road and why she thinks everyone needs a personal “board of directors”.