I know it "could" be done, but I have my doubts about the practicality of it-has anyone done this recently?

Never too late to improve your situation!

He did a practice inspection on one of my properties last fall to complete his training and owes me a beer!

I used to do Quality Assurance inspections for energy efficiency improvements in the city and am happy to help.

Focus on cosmetic improvements that get most bang for the buck.

That way you know in about 6-7 years you'll probably do some work on that roof and your manager will do it for you at a certain cost close to what you've been quoted today.The more opportunity for improvement you have in a property, the greater the discount you should purchase it at.

I mean, I know what the MA gov website recommends but is it actually common practice to spend that kind of money on every rental property you purchase that has lead in it?

I definitely intend to be as fair and honest a person I can be inside and outside the real estate field, knowing these practices help me as much as they help others.

In the event that you hire a broker it is industry standard practice for leasing commissions to be baked into the lease rate and usually amortized over the term of the lease and often times with a standard cost to capital added annually. 

@Sarah Lewis's practice is pretty good, because having an attorney send an onboarding letter tells us about anything that might be anticipated to go wrong so we can budget that into the transaction.