My question is: what are some strategies and/or creative solutions landlords and PM companies are putting into place for tenants who are starting to fall behind in rent but are protected by moratoriums?

What is the best opportunity to protect yourself? 

The best way to protect yourself is to thoroughly check tenants before they move in and thoroughly check tenants that are already in a property you are planning on purchasing.

However, if they have lived in the property over 12 months, they are going to be protected under the new law (AB1482) and you'll need "just cause" to evict them (unless there's an exemption you qualify under). 

How can I protect myself?

I can not claim to be smart enough to have started real estate when I was back in school haha, but I am sure I might be able to relate since sometimes it feels like I have multiple full-time jobs haha.I just try to focus on what I am doing during the moment and then switch gears when I need to. 

Tenant is advised to carry Tenant’s own insurance (renter’s insurance) to protect Tenant from any such loss or damage.

If that's the case, you can't do any renovations until you have it professionally deleaded or it would be flagged for Unauthorized Deleading and you can get fined and the property would never be able to get a Lead Certificate, only a letter of Environmental Protection that states you did illegal work, got caught, then had to pay a professional to clean up the mess.

(3) If Option B happens and I'm not able to come up with the full closing costs myself, would I be protected by the mortgage contingency, since I technically wasn't able to secure a loan for the full $703,500?

If asset protection is what you are looking for then get an umbrella insurance policy.