If you are looking to be an investor then I would suggest you don't be an agent that is a poor mans game and it will make it way more difficult to find deals. 

Also @Andrew Syrios thank you for your opinion also, it´s pretty much helpful to have different opinions and perspectives, but still difficult to decide when someone it´s just beginning.  

I have a portfolio of SFR out of state, but I am looking to start doing some deals on LI and want to build my network up here.

Go to BUILD YOUR TEAM at the top of the screen and look for local investors or meetups in your area.

My best piece of advice is find the most nit picky building inspector you can.

Personally, If I could pull out a HELOC, I would use it to fix and flip which will typically make sense as you shouldnt be keeping the money out for that long and you can recycle it or pay it back and build off the capital that you got from. the flip.

They often have different vendors introduce themselves so you can build your team and they often have a local member do a case study on one of their properties to share the ins, outs, ups, and downs of the investment.

What a great start to building wealth!

Even if you have an excellent team built with plenty of trust, it's really difficult to do this without having lots of face time and rapport building. 

Renting could allow you to focus on paying down debt and saving for a larger down payment, while buying now could help you start building equity or even generate passive income through house hacking.