It feels odd to give someone (or an LLC) 15k+ without feeling very vulnerable. 

You can talk to local and regional production builders to gauge their appetite and opinions about the market and potential of the area. 

I am from Hammond Indiana and all of my family lives in the region.

We just opened an account with a smaller regional bank for our rental properties.

If it is property management I know a few large regional companies that manage in the Columbus area that I could put you in contact with.Good luck in your journey!

Hi Aaron -- I'm not too familiar with real estate rules and regs in the Chicago region so take this with a grain of salt.

Another option would be local and regional commercial banks.

There are two or three humungous structures going in the River North region. 

While these goliaths have certainly made their presence known by gobbling up huge chunks of market share, and permanently altering the appraisal profession’s model along the way, I am happy to report there are still local and regional appraisal firms surviving.

However, markets are generally region-specific and national.