I assume you are referencing out of state taxes because you are in CA which shouldn't be a big deal because CA will be higher than everyone else and you can deduct other states taxes from your CA taxes in the form of a credit.

I only have 2k and my credit is around 638. 

Today was two weeks from the end of my contract period and despite feeling like I did everything asked of me they said I wasn‘t working out and terminated my contract.So to my point, I have a 401k from my previous job worth $80k, $50k after tax, plus about $20k in cash and at least $30k in available credit.

I just closed on my first rental today. how long do I need to wait to apply for a credit card?

Jenna has spent countless hours scouring the internet for information, as well as many calls/texts/emails with me talking over options and such. 

@Justin Frye If you're an investor that is looking to grow your portfolio I'd recommend calling the smallest 5-10 banks and/or credit unions in your market.The portfolio lending arena is much more flexible than the conventional space in my experience.

In order to get into this property i will most likely have to co sign with a family member since my credit is around 698 and i only make around 42,000 after taxes.

Clear all other debt and push your credit score as high as you can.

Should I focus on just securing funds for the down payment and closing costs or should I be concerned about creating some sort of reserves for said rental property (to account for any vacancies and expenses)I assume I need to make sure that in the event I cannot rent out the property we are able to cover the expenses relating to this house in additional to our own personal mortgages but I’m not too worried about this (please let me know if I should be worried)Outside of my mortgage and some credit card debt which will be paid off by the end of this month I do not have any other debt.Are there other factors that I should be considering?

Hard money lenders base their loan more on the Hard Asset then on your credit.