She handles all the bills, paperwork etc, while I handle the tenants and maintenance/rehabs.

I saw the dollar bills that tenants had in security deposit + first month's rents rather than their entire application.

If you translate this to her incorrectly and her tax bill ends up being huge as a result of what you tell her are you going to be liable?

Permitting the garage conversion will likely update the square footage on the tax rolls (and increase your tax bill accordingly).

College is only 4 years, but the real world, responsibilities, taxes, bills, and all that nonsense will be here whenever you choose to join it. 

@Fay BrownIf it is legal and permitted it should already be factored into the tax bill, unless it was just recently completed.

and/or reduce expenses (can you bill back the utilities to the tenants?)

@Stephan Ketterer the problem you're going to run into there is that the owner of the building is not the one paying the utility bills in most cases, it would be the tenant who may or may not have authorization to make modifications to the building, they also might not stay long enough for the upgrade to pay off. 

@Erik Stenbakken As you've come to find out, there is no standard when it comes to CPAs and their service offerings and billing methods.I think it goes without saying that you want someone who specializes in real estate.

Look Up Bill Exeter or Dave Foster on here.