They offer investor financing up to 85%LTV.

Profits and equity went one of three ways; paid back initial investor, were kept liquid or went into a mutual fund.

You can use this HELOC to fund future investments.Before you go buy that big, fancy, expensive “forever home” consider buying a 2-4 multi-family property with an FHA loan or some Live in flips.  

I know there are multiple ways but with great credit/credit history and little to no funds as a first time buyer what’s the top creative ways to begin?

To be specific, my steps to fully get into this world so far have been: Buy my first home Sign up to BiggerPockets website Listen to the first 5 podcasts (loving it)Send this messageEvaluate specialized Masters in R.E and meet with alumni and teachers plus attend one class as a guest observerMeet with friends working in the industry (mainly working for big Funds and Developers)Bought the 13 most widely recommended books in R.E.

I haven't allowed for much of a ramp up period and as a result, haven't budgeted the funds to cover the expenses in the beginning.

your job is to either get them paying again once you buy them or  foreclose and become the owner then resell or rent.2. there are note funds that will buy NPN and performing notes and do all the heavy lifting for you.. usually need to be accredited @Mike Hartzog has such a fund. 

Currently I have a team of investors that will need Gap funding from a private lender.

They teach how to get leads, general pricing for leads from a few places, many ways to close a deal, what to do with a deal, when to get out of a deal, how to find funding for a deal, SOWs, etc. 

They don't mind as long as the property is going to have good cash and your DCR (Debt Coverage Ratio) is above 1.25, because they typically fund them in house.