Tell others what you are looking to accomplish.

That is quite an accomplishment.

If you have good relationships with lenders, including the lender that has provided the construction financing, you should start having conversations with them now to see what might be the best bet for you and what you are looking to accomplish.    

A great lender can help you navigate your options and help you get a plan in place to accomplish your goals.

Since you're after scaling, this sounds like the option that accomplishes best what you want. 

That said, it is always best to contact your lender, tell them what your plans are and see what programs they have to get that accomplished for you?

If you did not qualify for what you thought you would, you either a) Simply don't have the income to buy properties in the area you wanted or b) Botched your paperwork and did not supply ALL documents requested from your lender. 3) Find an agent - Start getting in touch with a few agents in your area to see which ones would be the best and helping you accomplish your investing goal.

It sounds like you have already accomplished the hardest task in investing; that is finding a deal.  

Also, the tenant was a smoker for 15 years so I want to focus on removing the smell before brining new items into the house (any tips on this is appreciated).Maybe I'm biting off more than I can chew, but I would like to accomplish as much as possible on my own in the first 8 weeks.Thank you in advance for any feedback. 

Then once your goals are aligned, I would focus on the strategy that is going to allow you to accomplish your goals as fast as possible.