I would contribute most of the success of my previous properties from me being very strict with my numbers, doing all the proper due diligence and finding value that can be added.

That said, if I were to be added to the title, could I subsequently get a mortgage on the property to do a couple things like pay off her heloc, do renovations, invest elsewhere to grow that money she has tied up.

HUD requires the person signing for the LLC to be listed on the bid and typically HUD allows people to be added but not removed.  

That's a deal breaker right there.I also recommend that you provide your PM with specific instructions that can be added to the Addendum of that contract. 

OP would, of course, need to be added to title at closing or a couple days before (old rule was six months before, and the old old rule was that the current/old borrower also had to coborrow for the new mortgage). 

Some other items could be adding square footage, either with a room addition or finishing part of a basement along with an egress window.

They get you with extra surcharges as I later found out things like ac, sewer, etc is an extra cost that must be added. 

Significantly more housing units must be added to better meet demand before the market eventually resolves the extreme supply-demand imbalance in a manner that potentially none of the stakeholders prefer.The US population increased through the recent recession, but housing starts plummeted and have been lagging ever since (see below). 

I decided it would be best to have the contractor do prep work as well so that he would be responsible for the project going smoothly throughout the process.This was going to be added to the initial quote and the agreed upon price was $800.

While you might be adding value and other ways improving the deal, the eco system the property exists in still matters.