Separately from all of that - I recommend reviewing your lease up procedures to improve verification of signing tenants and their agreement and aware of terms and conditions. 

I'm a little biased (am the owner) but seriously pumped to see you recommending it.

We don't know of too many places that offer turnkey properties, so if you have any recommendations that would be great.

@Nicole GrazianoI recommend that you have a consultation with a real estate tax accountant regarding your taxes.Bigger Pockets is a great place to find a real estate tax accountant. 

What strategies do you recommend for securing hard money loans for spec builds?

Others have little/no experience and will give you bad advice that takes you down the wrong path.I recommend you focus on educating yourself while saving more money. 

Here's some basic copy & paste info that may help you make better investing decisions:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

Now my main issue is I need a fire detection system in a enclosed back porch that leads up to all three floors, but I don't know what's the minimum I would need to be compliant or that the fire marshall is suggesting what he wants or recommends.

If you were in my shoes, what real estate strategy would you recommend for scaling quickly (but smartly) so that I can replace a good portion of the W2 income from real estate investing?

I recommend terminating their lease now.