Other large employers are health, education, as well as transportation and warehousing. 

I haven’t tried hard money or private money lenders either.

Hard Money Loans: These are short-term loans from private lenders based on the property's value rather than your credit score.

You could pay them a flat interest rate on the funds they contribute, similar to a private lender, or offer a percentage of the profits to align their success with yours.

If it's private money, they would issue a letter.

I know I can reach out to some mortgage brokers to connect me with a private lender for most of the mortgage and then I would just need another lender to supply the down payment and renovation money.

However, depending on the Trust Company you work with, you might have more options with respect to the diversity of public and private market investments.

fix and flips are the vast majority of the targets for private lenders.

Strictly from a private money lens: If you're open to a 2nd position private money loan against your STR's, it's possible.

Private financing where an investor can get a loan from an individual rather than a conventional loan because you can get more leverage and have more room to negotiate