8 in 24 months is no joke, especially chipping away one at a time, I'm sure it has come with plenty of teachable moments, but its awesome that you are able to ask the question of how to scale.To start, a hard money lender that is only allowing you to do one at a time with your track record is... well... kind of silly.

What is the standard process from start to finish so we can eliminate as much risk as possible?

I'll start with the largest learning curve. 

I've thought about commercial real estate and/or residential house building but dont have any knowledge on where to start.

I'm now aware of any "lifetime" limits for FHA loans, but you're required to live in the property for at least 1 year after the loan starts.

These figures are updated every Federal fiscal year which starts October 1. 

From the start, something seemed off with the seller and/or the seller's agent.

The meeting starts at 6 pm CST and members and 1st-time guests are free. 

Start with BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginners Guide (free).

However, when STOA first started going down the tank, they were negotiating with me on interest because selling them on MLS was a different entity at that time.