Since the death benefit is minimized, the commissions are drastically reduced to the benefit of the policy owner. 

As an investor you have less stress, you don't have to where a yellow or blue blazer, no need to look for the balloon in the air and don't have to pay dues, attend meetings, meet a quota, do a coop with agents who take part of your commissionJust think no floor duty, no driving customers around to look at houses,  waste your time and gas. sap your energy and leaving you only to buy a property from their brother in law who just get their licenseOh YES, the freedom to make all the money your are worth, no need  for the hassle of finding listings, prospecting, floor duty.......oh the freedom that an investor has, oh the pleasure of sleeping late, making creative offers, doing subject to existing financing, delayed settlements, collecting assignment fees.....oh the sweet freedom of cash flow and free time.

I have the 30+% down and a credit score of 760+ with minimal debt (few hundred dollars).    

She worked hard to accomplish that, so I am trying to minimize any interruption to her existing way of life.  

Personally, I'd inspect the waste disposal unit a bit more if you got a report of a shock.

Either the seller will comply or they will not for the request.A 5-plex is a waste.

Write off all the depreciation you can and minimize discretionary write-offs if your goal is to maximize purchase power.

There's no room for you, unless you just want to waste 3-4 months of her time, and she starts back where she was, only that much closer to an auction of she's in foreclosure.

I want to make sure I go about this right and don't waste anyone's time.

in texas you dont have basements, but adding another bath gets you higher rents. you can add ceiling fans, pendands, granite counters, open up walls, skylights, etc. but do inside changes only. dont waste your money on exterior stuff. that's a waste of time.