Fisherman’s Profile : Mike Hardy
Michael Hardy has been living to fish and golf for as long as he can remember. The adventure and anticipation that comes every time a fish hits the line is what has kept Hardy, owner of Hardy Real Estate Group, circling back to the sport of fishing his entire adult life.
Fortunately for him, as a young college graduate, destiny led him to Los Sueños Resort & Marina in Herradura, Costa Rica. Hardy supported himself during his last two years at the University of Texas by leasing and selling residential properties in the downtown and campus areas of Austin, Texas. When he graduated with a degree in public relations in 1997, he decided to move to Costa Rica to pursue a job selling property for Los Sueños Resort & Marina. Two weeks after graduation he packed his car and drove from his home town of San Antonio, Texas, down through Mexico and Central America to Costa Rica, where began his career in Costa Rica real estate.
Says Hardy, “I began working with Bill Royster and his team in 1998 and I still remember the day I saw the master plan for the first time. He mailed (we didn’t have email back then!) a sales package to my house in Texas prior to me ever seeing the resort, and I remember looking at the master plan on an 8.5 x 11 brochure. I was so young at the time that I didn’t think much of it, but the reason it became so significant to me is I was able to see an ocean view cattle ranch turn in to exactly what the vision and master plan was set out to be. Royster and his team hardly changed one location of one development property because it was done right the first time; they stayed with their plan and never deviated.”
During his tenure in the resort Mike participated in the sales of over $100 million in Real Estate revenue in Los Sueños Resort and Marina (LSRM). Mike left LSRM and founded his own company Hardy Real Estate Group (HRG) in 2008. HRG specializes in the listing and sale of properties within Los Sueños Resort & Marina, as well as property management for owners and vacation rentals.
Of Los Sueños Resort & Marina, Hardy says, “There isn’t a better place to vacation if you’re an angler. We have some of the most prolific sport fishing in the world right here in our own back yard. Between the beauty and adventure that Costa Rica has to offer, the amazing fishing, the championship golf course, and our pool of luxury vacation villas and condos for rent, you just can’t go wrong.”
Mike brings experience, knowledge, and professionalism to his organization, a real estate company that consistently has the finest listings at competitive prices. Hardy lives in the resort, owns several properties, is an avid golfer, and is part of the angler team on Jaruco, a boat that has done pretty well this 2016 LSRM tournament season.
Today, Hardy’s favorite big-game species are blue marlin. Depending on the time of year and location, Hardy will fish with 50- or 80-pound test. His favorite fishing destinations, he says, are where the billfish are and where there is clean warm water and smooth sailing. Hardy is a member of several organizations that work for billfish conservation. Where does he see the sports fishing industry headed?
“Up and onward” says Hardy, ” every year I see our own Los Sueños Triple Crown Billfish Series break new records, as more and more pros make their way to Costa Rica for this amazing tournament.”
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