(Or a hack....)You can not get someone in there that pays taxes on employees+WC+insurance+bond+ license+ commercial truck insurance++++ for 30 dollars an hour. 

Uh, it takes heavy Equipment, trucks, a license and permits to completely demo/remove a house.

The federal government simply can't afford to have interest rates go too high so they won't.Also keep in mind if interest rates jump up like they did in the last few months, it is because the economy is trucking along and your rents are likely increasing as well.Having said that, I'm a big fan of evaluating risks from possible scenarios and planning for those contingencies so here's a few contingency plans I use.1) As you're already considering, stagger your maturities.

I don’t know much about taxes but I’ve read that gas, food and a home office is tax deductible. any info would be appreciated. thanks! 

You may want to reconsider your ultra conservative investment approach in order to grow and actually achieve positive cash flow.If you are buying homes worth 50K or less and renting for $850 + per month you are not doing as badly however you should try to find a way to pull all your dead equity especially before the markets turn and you end up losing it all.Paying off rental properties is not investing it is hoarding of cash and is extreamly expensive.Just food for thought

If you host it during the evening, most not too busy restaurant would probably let you use the space for free, in exchange of attendees purchasing food & drink.

By the time I load my tools in my truck, diagnose the problem, run for parts, etc it often takes 2-3 times as long as someone who is equipped for this work.I will try to handle turning units between renters because it's a good opportunity to engage my teenage kids and pay them $x/hr for painting, cleaning and maintenance and teach them something about hard work in the process.

Great town lots of history and great food. downtown area is pretty clean and people are for the most part very hospitable.

I would say it’s more like a food chain.....

Not say it’s not a good investment but you have to find a way to put food on the table while you wait and you have to get that big initial capital.