I've done cash-out refis from one house to buy another, and also done HELOCs on rental houses to establish lines of credit for purchases. 

Gamble / Play the lottery3.  

Once you establish a relationship with them, you may be able to get 100% purchase price.Do some research here on BP about carrying costs, loans etc to get an idea of the costs and requirementsJust my two cents

@Ndy Onyido   Nothing is certain, everything is a gamble.   

But its a gamble.

As an agent, do you work with investors and as a beginner would you recommend an agent be of primary importance or a person that becomes more helpful after becoming more established?

I thought about marketing online, but a quick search pulled up several established home buyers in my area.

Local knowledge can be vital, and vaguely similarly described comps can be very misleading when trying to establish what a particular property is REALLY worth.How much capital expenditure will be soon required in order to keep it habitable?

From an outsider's perspective I'd say that you should keep your 9-5 for a while longer while you get established as an agent.

An area that's already established or one that is on the rise?