If anyone has a referral in the Raleigh NC area let me know.   

But I can say that ideally you'd get a local referral from a group of people w/ similar experiences.

Go to a local REI group meeting and ask for a referral from someone who has used an HML.

There will be promoters at various tables some of whom will be hard money lenders, get their cards and the flyers with their info.Be prepared to partner on deals until you have a proven track record of 5 deals or so, then the hard money folks will talk to you.

And I am still hoping that this community might lead to a good referral regarding someone in this area. 

There are a lot of conspiracy theories out there - they say the advisers only promote what they will receive their commissions on or a larger conspiracy of the whole financial system to keep funds in the market and not out to other types of investments.  

I'd ask your agent, both contractors we are working with came from a referral from our agents.

If you go that route and want to save 10% on your first order - here's a referral: http://www.moo.com/share/fyh7pz.Full disclosure - I'm just a customer of theirs and a big fan of their products so that's why I share this (and who wouldn't want to save 10%)... and while it apparently gives me some credit towards my future purchases, I have no idea what it equates to yet.

This is not a promotion for their services, but it has been an excellent tool for my direct mailings. www.microbilt.com

You can also ask for referrals to see how responsible and professional they are.