I should be in your neck of the woods in June, hopefully we can meet in person.

Yes - major issues (death or major injury) will mostly likely involve a lawyer on contingency.  

The downside comes in two different forms:  If the investment doesn't work out and you incur a loss, you'll add insult to injury by being left behind with debt to pay off. 

Yes, the landlord will have to pay the legal fees deductible on its own liability insurance, and will also suffer incredibly intrusive inquiries into every aspect of its business and personal life as the parties engage in "discovery" during the lawsuit.A third party who trips over a tenant's child's bicycle on the front sidewalk, and suffers injury and medical expenses, will look for somebody to sue.

To add insult to injury, ex "sold" the properties for about 25% of what we paid for them over 30 years ago! 

Not familiar with your neck of the woods but I can tell you from experience that being an owner in absentia can be a challenge unless you have some form of local managements or at least maintenance. 20 spaces is indeed too small for an on site manager, however.

I had a traumatic brain injury and after all is said and done I have about 60K to invest (and 30K in bank) but I don’t have a W2 or 1099 to show the bank.

They have neck tats and chew tobacco in their sleep. 

What happens if someone slips and falls on the property, suffers a horrible injury, sues for $1 million, and wins?

Under HUD regulations, any house or apartment that has four or more steps must have a handrail installed to prevent the potential for injury.