I am an investor/agent based on Charlottesville VA and I got my start during college as well.

You should get more than enough help from agents commenting on here soon in Columbus.

Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas have some great opportunities, and it’s smart to connect with local investors and agents to get a feel for the market.

I do NOT rent to any real estate agents, brokerages, or property management companies as they would be a competing business and it wouldn't benefit either of our businesses to share a building.

In the future, I believe there will be little need for Real Estate Agents and Mortgage Lenders.

Network Network Network (On the fourms, 1:1 coffee/lunch with local investors, agents, lenders, and in-person at local real estate meetups) - Here is local meetups listed in BP:  https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521-real-estate-events-...1. 

Found it on Zillow searches and my agent on the ground got me into a virtual tour quickly How did you finance this deal?

Generally, once you engage a Public Adjuster, your agent is out of the loop.  

Found it on Zillow searches and my agent on the ground got me into a virtual tour quickly How did you finance this deal?

That might be the single most important point - 2 out of the 3 properties have come as off market deals through our network, and we also found our attorney, accountant, agent, contractors, etc through our network.