I'm not an loan officer, but I know some banks locally like ORNL Credit Union have offered a 0% down conventional loan product.

There’s huge retal income potential if you nail that balance between improvements that wow tenants and improvements that merely look fancy but don’t justify higher rents.I’d also keep an eye on how your high end plan fits the local demand.

@Dan Geffen moved down there and knows the area well if you want to connect with a local investor.

In our area 67% of tenants will move locally because of issues with maintenance - which are often issues with communication.  

We are out of state and have local property managers.

My PM quotes me and does the work on my buys to get them rent-ready and then manages them and I'm local but they do the same for many out of state investors as do many Property managers in Milwaukee such as Citywide Rentals, Welcome Home Milwaukee or MKE Leasing. 

Contractor – This is one I really need help from the bigger pockets community in the local area. 

I would suggest going to the find a lender tab here on bigger pockets to find a local lender who has the same products. 

There are also some locally I think through the AAR, I would reach out to them but if not I am happy to help!

I would recommend tuning into Straight Up Chicago Investor Podcast and going to local meetups.