Moreover, with a mortgage, you are not as much of a lawsuit magnet as you are with a paid-in-full property.  

One of these strategies is to purchase a SF with a mother-in-law suite or some kind of addition and rent out both sides, allowing for similar income to a duplex.

Or alternatively, you could consider using a 5% down conventional loan next year to purchase a single family with an ADU/in-law suite that you could rent out.

(claimed she fell) However, the lawsuit went nowhere since it was baseless.  

Before spending a few grand on a lawsuit to collect the unpaid rent, I would first determine if its worth going after them. if this is a C rental then its not worth it as you probably will never collect compared to if its an A area.

There are countless guest lawsuits that will wipe out your whole livelihood, property portfolios and financial soundness.

Just got off the phone with my attorney hoping to get some news about the backlog of evictions - we discussed a proposal a judge is putting forth to require proof of rental compliance before being eligible to file ANY lawsuit (7day, notice to quit ect)  Less than 10% of rentals are in compliance in the city. 

I couldn't find any readily available services for small properties (mine is technically a "house hack" because my property is a SF residence with a mother in law suite and a separate carriage house. i'm small potatoes to bigger companies), so I'll need to install my own water and electrical submeters. any suggestions?   

And if the properties are leveraged, there's probably not much anyone could take in a lawsuit.

The increased risk of law suit for an amateur mistake (professional PMs have insurance).