Invest in a book by Craftsman called Construction Installation Encyclopedia (https://www.craftsman-book.com/craftsman-s-construction-installation-encyclopedia-book-with-cd-ebook-pdf).

You will probably not like my advice, but here goes...There are often multiple levels of players involved -- listing agent, asset manager and the bank. 

One of my close friends is a pretty big player in your forums/is a moderator and he turned me on to you guys a few years ago and you've always been a real great source of info for my fiance and me.

Big players are hoarding cash based on the current place in the cycle. 

Something that helped me on my way as a poker player was surrounding.

RE is always local and I'm sure there are Class C, D areas that can hit this, but not even close in my market. 

Also where should I point my energy towards to become a big player in the industry?

On a personal level, one of my friends were buying in C/D neighborhoods in Sarasota, FL.

or B)Transfer all of my cash to a CD, use the CD as collateral for my loan, and then switch from using a collateral loan to a real estate loan 6-8 months in after I have established a little bit more credit history with my bank.

Im sure you would be able to find some players being an agent.