Most structure their asset in a way that they are building equity and not paying or paying minimal income tax. 

What liability are you minimizing?

I believe that your questions about how to better proceed with mitigation and the respective costs of the options you've put forth would be best posed to a lead mitigation specialist in your local area.If you are aware of lead based paint at the property, you should indicate so on a lead based paint disclosure form and have your tenants sign it.

It's a month to month lease, I did not indicate 30 days anywhere in the lease .I just indicated tenant needs to provide a month's notice prior to vacating and that month could be anywhere between 28 to 31 days depending on a leap year or non leap year and typically I wouldn't have bothered at all about notice if it was an emergency situation such as a job loss or a non-pandemic situation.

The one economic indicator that makes me question a drop in prices is the housing supply shortage. 

If going the conventional several mortgages route, what are other safety measures to minimize risk besides a good insurance policy? 

No 401k and IRA funds are just way easier to keep track of when invested in stocks, not to mention if you are doing RE properly you should have a minimal tax burden, so why would you use tax advantaged money to invest in it, assuming you want a diversified portfolio.

I'm most likely gonna pay myself rent :)  altho had to pass on renting to myself cause my credit score wasn't high enough :) haquality of school districts are supposed to be #1 indicator if a property will appreciate. 

However real estate investing it a totally new concept to me.I’ve read a few books and done quite of bit of research but I can’t decide if the strategy/method of investing I am thinking of would best work with my current situation.I do own a principle residence with a mortgage + heloc portion (currently have $30k in it with no balance) and minimal credit items on history and have over 800 score.

If you're looking for minimal upkeep and minimal reno - I'd probably avoid the central downtown area as you will need to make a heavy investment in those properties to get to that kind of cash flow or the high return you're looking for right away.Best of luck to you!!