Also contact one or two local brokers and see if they can be of any benefit.

Then, start underwriting deals sent to you by your broker.

@Tom Canterino I'd recommend talking to a good mortgage broker, they are often aware of many loan programs that can help with that kind of thing.You could also consider bringing in a partner who can either loan you some of the down payment or some other creative solution (e.g., initially unequal co-ownership but where you could buy back X% over time until you get to 50-50, or something else entirely).Seller financing, as @Dennis M. said, is another great creative strategy, it's a variation on the partner theme, except the "partner" is debt partnering with the former owner.

I would love to get my feet wet in some sort of real estate business whether it be a real estate legal assistant, working in a property management company or working in a real estate broker company, etc.

For me real estate is a career, it is my passion and I invest over 60 hours a week to my company and brokers.

I would suggest finding an insurance broker that can shop rates. 

This is considered brokering without a license or at a minimum intentionally skirting the brokering without a license rules and regs. 

A close friend of mine brokers over a billion dollars in RE loans annually and was able to secure a 5% 5yr ARM with 80% LTV on this 800k deal for me in October (18').

I’m looking for recommendations on mortgage brokers in the Houston area.

All that was required was that I broker the loan and my wife be on the loan, we put the funds into one of her bank accounts, and that it'll be able to pay for itself based on an appraisers review.