About 12”-14” in about a  22’ span 

In a 36 hour span, she had multiple quotes for me from all the sub contractors and a few days later everything was taken care of under budget.

If you peek into the attic and only see the prefab trusses you should be able to take out any wall on the interior you want.If you have rafters on the house instead of trusses then you are only going to be able to span whatever the capability of the wood or PLAM is and you could have a structural wall in the middle somewhere, but you would probably see some indication on the roof of a step or turn.Also, that "doorway" does not have a header in it.

For example: In a 5-week span, we were billed for three house cleanings and three "yard quick cut/maintenance", totaling over $1000, in a vacant house that we had bought off the MLS.

Finally, speaking of making their lives easy, make sure you are on top of the actual appraisal appointment when the appraiser visits the property: Make sure your tenants receive proper notice, maybe hint to them to tidy the place up as much as possible, make sure the grass is freshly cut and the exterior is spic and span, and make sure someone is present with keys and all pets are secured.

. $12000/10 year life span/12 months in a year=$100 per month for 1 item in a capex budget.

While an inherited IRA can invest in real estate, that short time span does create a set of challenges.Go invest that money in real estate personally and feel blessed that your mother was able to leave you some capital jump start the process. 

If you are just starting and want to get the most bang for your buck I recommend writing your own letters and mailing that list a couple of times over a 3 month span.

They've replaced my cooktop and double wall oven in my house over the same time span.  

The San Francisco appreciation has never failed to happen over a 10 year span since home prices have been tracked.