How STR Scout Began

Born from thirty years of real-world investing and the belief that clarity only comes from being there.

There comes a point in every investing journey when spreadsheets stop helping.
On paper, a property can look perfect. The truth of a place, however, lives in its rhythm: the pace of mornings, the way people move, the sound of daily life.

That is where STR Scout began. It grew out of nearly thirty years of hands-on investing experience and a simple goal: to help you find your next opportunity with clarity and confidence.

Boots on the Ground Scouting

Clarity comes from being there.
Not through data alone or glossy marketing decks, but by walking the streets, talking to locals, and feeling the pulse of a place.
That is what separates theory from truth. It is what STR Scout was built on.

Clarity in the Real World

The foundation of STR Scout traces back to a career built in real estate, hospitality, and mortgage banking.
I studied hotel and property management in the early 1990s, earned my real estate license, and stepped into property operations across Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Managing thousands of units early on taught the fundamentals of value creation: operations, service, and accountability. It also revealed what numbers alone cannot capture. How people actually live, move, and experience a place. Those lessons now shape how STR Scout evaluates destinations for livability and lifestyle fit.

My first investment property was purchased in 1995. Since then, I have been an owner or partner in more than 100 investment doors and have operated 15 Airbnb homes since 2014. That hands-on experience continues to inform how STR Scout helps investors align lifestyle and return.

Mortgage Banking and Real Estate Investing

From property management, I moved into mortgage banking and led origination teams for some of the nation’s top mortgage bankers.
Over the years, we funded more than five billion dollars in investor and developer loans. Working through multiple market cycles taught timing, discipline, and structure. Those same lessons now guide how STR Scout examines lending and acquisition opportunities for investors today.

Resort Scouting and International Expansion

In 2005, I co-founded Resort Home Consultants to scout and build property portfolios for private equity groups and destination clubs across the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, and the Caribbean.

Those years shaped the core of the STR Scout philosophy: clarity comes from being there.
By walking projects, meeting developers, attorneys, and hospitality operators, and observing how both travelers and locals live, I learned to separate sales narrative from ground reality. That approach remains central to every STR Scout report today.

Building, Operating, and Exiting

From 2012 to 2018, I built and operated a long-term rental portfolio that stabilized more than 150 units, then expanded into a 15-home Airbnb portfolio.

In 2017, we launched STR Homes for Sale to help market the Airbnb spec homes we were building. What began as a simple way to share our own projects soon attracted other investors and agents doing the same. It has since grown into the largest online community for short-term rental buyers and sellers, connecting more than 100,000 members across Facebook.

Those two principles guided my timing when the market overheated in 2020. I began selling strategically, not from fear but from discipline, to reposition for travel, scouting, and community building.

The STR Scout Lens

Every market is evaluated through four lenses: livability, lifeability, investability, and tourism momentum.
Livability reflects comfort and rhythm. Lifeability considers what a place gives back through creativity, renewal, and wellbeing. Investability measures financial logic and pricing power. Tourism momentum shows why guests visit, who they are, and how consistently they return.

Where these layers overlap, long-term value has room to grow.

The Vision Ahead

The mission remains steady, but the horizon is expanding.
STR Scout will continue to deliver deal flow in STR Classifieds and Top Picks in key U.S. destinations while extending global scouting to explore, discover, and share the most promising international markets for short-term rentals and lifestyle assets.

We are drawing on thirty years of successful investing to help you identify the next opportunity that fits your goals, lifestyle, and vision for the years ahead.

The goal is to help investors live better, diversify intelligently, and earn more through lifestyle-rich real estate.
We are building deeper connections and helping members connect with the places, people, and local professionals who make it possible to live, work, play, and invest globally.

Closing Thought

Not all data tells the truth.
That is why we still go, with sand on our boots in the tropics and snow on our boots in the mountains, to see, walk, and understand what is real.

Where Is Your Curiosity Taking You?

Some readers follow our U.S. destinations, where STR Scout Classifieds and Top Picks highlight active deals and market trends.
Others are drawn to the idea of exploring abroad, discovering lifestyle markets where a home can serve both as an investment and a place to live part of the year.

Wherever your curiosity leads, we will be there, scouting, listening, and sharing the places where opportunity and experience meet.

Happy Scouting,

Andy
STR Scout