Sarah Weaver lives with intention, reacts with flexibility, and practices patience. It\u2019s how she managed to acquire 15 units and travel the world as a digital nomad. It\u2019s why agents hire her to coach them. It\u2019s how she started a company to fill a need in her industry. It\u2019s how she earned the financial position to be able to pursue properties in the Smoky Mountains, an area that would have been out of reach for her just a year ago.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But her journey wasn\u2019t always smooth sailing. 2020 was a particularly transformational year, she explains on an\u00a0<\/span>episode of the BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast<\/span><\/a>. She admits to doing things the wrong way before learning to do them right. She wasn\u2019t sure how to navigate her relationships with real estate agents or how to narrow her focus to the right investment strategy. That knowledge was, like Weaver\u2019s success, earned through hard work. Now, she has carved a path that other long-distance investors would feel lucky to follow\u2014and there\u2019s a lot to learn from her story.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n People sometimes ask Weaver how she grew her wealth so quickly. She says it wasn\u2019t easy \u2014 but it was most certainly intentional. \u201cI think one thing that I can say with confidence is I live really intentionally,\u201d she says. \u201cWas there a lot of tears and setbacks and frustrations? Absolutely. But I woke up and I was really clear on what my goals were and I didn\u2019t let the little things knock me down.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n In 2015, Weaver wrote in her journal that she wanted to be location-independent. Within eight days, she had a job in the real estate industry that allowed her to work remotely. \u201cAnd that was this \u2018aha\u2019 moment of manifestation. And so, ever since then, I\u2019ve just been really diligent about writing down what I want in life and then not really taking no for an answer.\u201d She knew she wanted to live in Buenos Aires. So three years ago, she bought a one-way ticket to Argentina. When you\u2019re intentional about the life you want, you understand that obstacles are par for the course\u2014and you don\u2019t let them turn you around.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A lot of success in real estate comes from starting with the resources you have. Weaver was living in Denver, Colorado, in 2017. The area was cost-prohibitive for her at the time, so she drove to Kansas City, knowing she could get a better price. \u201cAnd so I house-hacked in Kansas City in 2017.\u201d She went from single family to duplex to fourplex, house-hacking in different markets each time. It was never an accident that she would become nomadic. She built her investment strategy intentionally for that lifestyle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Co-host of the BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast, David Greene, echoes that a lot of success in real estate and business is built in small steps. \u201cIt\u2019s that incremental systematic progress where you\u2019re not trying to just knock your opponent out in one punch,\u201d he explains. That kind of patient escalation is something that Weaver has done very well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI think long-distance investing is the absolute way to go even from day one. People ask like, \u2018What do you do if something breaks?\u2019 And I say, \u2018It\u2019s great. You don\u2019t do anything.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Doing nothing, however, requires a lot of proactive work. \u201c I have what I call the vendor list. And so I don\u2019t just have one plumber. I have five plumbers because of course the day that something happens, the plumber that you love and trust isn\u2019t available. And so that list is crucial.\u201d She starts working on that list as soon as she\u2019s confident she\u2019ll close. It\u2019s how she self-manages all of her 15 units from thousands of miles away.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Doing nothing also requires that you do your due diligence, she says. \u201cYou have to have a team on the ground that you can trust. And so that\u2019s where investor-friendly, investor-savvy real estate agents are absolutely clutch. You need to trust them, but just like online dating, you trust but verify. And so I like to have video tours. I walk the neighborhood on Google Earth. There\u2019s lots of steps in my due diligence process that make long-distance investing possible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n And though it might go without saying, strong WiFi is crucial. Weaver recommends setting up in a new locale on a weekend day to ensure you can get consistent internet access during the week.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Though distance can be an obstacle, it also has its perks. Living abroad allowed Weaver to keep her expenses low, save more of her salary, and go from three units to 15 in just 68 days. \u201cAnd when that happened, I woke up and was like, \u201cWow, I did it,\u201d like I exceeded my lean F-I number or lean financial independent number. Meaning all of my expenses are more than covered by my rental income. I can easily leave my W-2.\u201d It was always the end goal\u2014and now it\u2019s a reality.<\/span><\/p>\n Working with agents can be difficult even when you\u2019re not in a different time zone. Investing from abroad presents an even greater challenge. But ironically, when you invest from a distance, you rely on your agent the most. Weaver says choosing the right agent is part of the puzzle, and having flexibility in your expectations is another. \u201cIdeally, your agent is also an investor, or at least understands investing,\u201d she says. She asks probing questions when interviewing a real estate agent, such as:<\/span><\/p>\n Once you have a good agent, you should, of course, try to keep them. This means setting crystal clear criteria so your agent can confidently find what you need. For example, when Weaver was in New Zealand pursuing a deal in Omaha, she provided her agent with incredibly detailed criteria. \u201cHe knew to give me purchase price, current rent, market rent, estimated rehab, taxes, and insurance.\u201d And that information made it easier for Weaver to evaluate the deal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Maintaining your agent\u2019s trust also means putting your money where your mouth is. \u201cOne of the quickest ways to be sent to the bottom of an agent\u2019s list is to tell them your crystal clear criteria, the agent sends you that deal, and then you don\u2019t write an offer on it.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s important to be respectful of your agent\u2019s reputation and time. If they\u2019re going to reach out to their contacts for you and find off-market deals that meet your criteria, you need to be certain about what you want and willing to write an offer when you find it, or it will reflect poorly on them. Weaver also has different expectations of how her agents spend their time than she would from a residential agent. \u201cI actually don\u2019t make my agents walk a property unless I\u2019m under contract,\u201d she says, because their time is spent hunting deals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If you\u2019re looking for an investor-friendly real estate agent, check out Agent Finder<\/a> in the BiggerPockets Marketplace to find vetted and professional real estate agents who can help you secure the deals you need.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Weaver\u2019s success was only possible because she focused on one strategy at a time. Currently, she\u2019s finding a happy medium in the medium-term rental strategy. \u201cIf you have someone who\u2019s willing to book your place for a month, two, maybe three months, they want it fully furnished. You, the landlord, cover utilities, and you might not get as much rent as you would on Airbnb, but there\u2019s less turnover. There\u2019s guaranteed income,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This strategy also allows investors to evade local ordinances that restrict the number or type of short-term rentals allowed, which\u00a0<\/span>have become popular in Western states<\/span><\/a>, particularly Colorado.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Weaver says she\u2019s had success listing her units on Facebook Marketplace and FurnishedFinder.com. But Airbnb can also be a reliable place to find medium-term tenants. Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky says\u00a0<\/span>more people are reserving rentals for a longer period<\/span><\/a>\u00a0because the pandemic has led to more remote work. In the fourth quarter of 2021, 22% of the nights booked were for stays of one month or longer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Investors often have the unique ability to recognize the unmet needs of other investors, and that\u2019s the idea behind Weaver\u2019s newest venture. \u201cI am now filling a need in the market. I started a company called Arya Design Services, and we help investors either revamp or fully launch their Airbnb. We can buy all of the furniture remotely, have it sent to the unit, and people on the ground can put it together, or you can fly my team in to furnish it themselves.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s just another example of the opportunities that can present themselves when you live with intention, react with flexibility, and practice patience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nBe Intentional<\/span><\/h2>\n
Where to Start<\/span><\/h2>\n
The Perks (and Challenges) of Long-Distance Investing<\/span><\/h2>\n
Navigating Relationships with Agents<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Choosing the Right Investment Strategy<\/span><\/h2>\n
Filling a Market Need<\/span><\/h2>\n
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<\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/figure>\nFind a Local Agent Today<\/h3>\n