There are multiple large hospitals and plenty of large companies here, all that have employees who travel for work and are great STR tenants.

I have used two property management companies.

My company, 1031X, has been in the business for 31 years nationwide, and we have the highest client satisfaction rating in the US. 

I would chat with a tax professional to get their opinion. 

Columbus has become a major tech hub in the midwest with large companies like Intel investing $20 billion, Amazon investing $3.5 billion, Google building 2 new data centers: one in downtown Columbus and the other in right outside of U.S. 33 in Lancaster.

Moving forward, a better alternative than hassling yourself and your guests with damage deposits is to just purchase damage insurance through a company called Safely for each booking.

If you are unsure how to structure a loan or don't know where to find borrowers, consider partnering with a professional company who can handle the entire process.   

Are you using a title and escrow company? 

Good companies have problems. 

My company, 1031X, is a nationwide 1031 provider.