Give it some time and them move to another market if the first one doesn't prove promising, rather than focus on several at once.I've managed to network via friends, friends of friends, or work acquaintances into a trusted realtor in my chosen market who could jump start things. 

Make sure there's several and that there's diversity.

The reasons may not matter, but basically there have been issues that required several repairs.

Several banks went under too.

@Jason Sherrod I haven't read that note book, but I have read several others. 

I have helped several out of state investors both newbies and experienced.

I would recommend calling a few/several that are frequent contributes here on BP such as @Dmitriy Fomichenko (who I used) @Brian Eastman @Carl Fischer and others (you can tell from their 'signatures' who they are) and see who is the best fit.

There have been several large student housing complexes built over the past few years.

We will be raising capital, offering 8-12% returns to investors, but we first need a track record, so we chose to find deals and finance them via Seller Financing, combined with Hard MoneyProblem is, no one wants to be in 2nd position for a mortgage, and all lenders ask for cash of our own up front (several hundred thousands, which we of course, do not have)Any suggestions?

I have always been interested in real estate as I watched my grandmother manage several properties as a child, but while here I finally decided to take the leap and get things started on my own.