I recommend "The Compound Effect" by Darren Hardy and "The Talent Code" by Daniel Coyle.- Consider joining a team for 1-3 years.

For the first occurrence, and especially if they bring up that defense, I would take into consideration how long they have resided there and if the tenancy has been short term so far, I would consider possibly splitting the cost to be fair. 

I've never had an evicted tenant have much of a defense aside from, "I was going to pay him" which won't fly in the court of law. 

Murphy" Exemption -- A 50 State Guide | Fair Housing Defense (foxrothschild.com)

(A suggestion: if you don't already, I strongly recommend using a late fee that compounds daily.

Places with the most recession-proof jobs such as in education, government, defense, healthcare, etc. will be more resilient in the next downturn.

My business is traffic and misdemeanor defense.

Phase 2: At traditional “retirement age,” I will have the option to take distributions from qualified assets I’ve built up over the years that will have compounded nicely over multiple decades.   

Cash flow is defensive.  

Insurance will give you a better defense than owning 15 or 20 LLCS.