When you do provide it (e.g. applying for loan in your own name), make sure they are a reputable company.Unfortunately identity theft is a real thing and can really screw up your life for year and years once it happens.Oren

To me, this sounds like the seller is literally STEALING the buyer's future appreciation profit by charging him/her up front and cashing in on the future appreciation of an asset they didn't help to improve.

ONe last thing  keep in mind even though you think yourself a hard working honest person etc etc and I am sure you are.. with a nice family etc.the person whose home your trying to get will view you in a completely different light.to them your a greedy no good investor trying to steal their home and kick them out.. your thinking you have been wronged here.. and you DESERVE something..

If they're concerned I'll lose some or all of the account value at the same time as I default on the loan, they could roll the contribution money into an identical account at their institution where the only investment option is cash (or whatever they consider safe enough). 

Then looking closer, I see that there are two identical neighboring triplex for sale.

(obviously my mistake) So 2nd time almost identical issue, on the 5th tenant came by after hrs with no phone call or acknowledgement that they had left payment except this time we saw the car leaving so i called (of course no answer) but left a very stern and detailed message about how this was not acceptable and no longer will be tolerated. 

Gear it towards cash flow instead of having to steal it on price.

This terms look identical to some portfolio lenders I've come across.

Real estate is non-liquid, and to get your equity back you incur large expenses often and may need to access equity at a time when the market is down and steals a lot of it..Ah, but what about appreciation? 

You are banking on appreciation unless you get an absolute steal or a great of market deal.