Sometimes, I will use a credit card to make payments to have some additional time to see how things pan out and then potentially use my HELOC to pay off my credit card balance.Side comment... 

It's great that you guys have a strong investment partnership going, so hope it pans out well for you both.  

I’ll be behind on repairs and might lose my contractor if I’m not ready to roll when his schedule allows.Also, the repairs are pretty significant...this side of the duplex doesn’t have central air, so we have to get that installed, total bathroom gut b/c the tub is cracked and the sink leaks and toilet is 50 years old....I can’t do this stuff while they remain living there.

They aren't going to automatically remember to do things like pay the water bill, mow the lawn, not throw Q-tips down the toilet, etc.

Third, the seller can still receive regular returns without needed to "fix toilets."

Except the kitchen sinks, everything else works, toilet, bathtub, and bathroom sink.

IF the water use spikes in one month, there may be a leaking pipe or running toilet.

You do NOT want to be the property manager, being on call at all hours to unclog toilets.

By the time the King collected all of the rents, it was time to start collecting them again for the next month.The King didn’t like fixing clogged toilets on Friday nights when I had better things to do, or on Saturday mornings when my favorite real estate infomercial was on.

Perhaps, your property has some serious plumbing problem where there is too much moisture in the bathroom, or the toilet is crappy and constantly overflows causing water to leak on the floor, but even if a bathroom gets flooded the door should be high enough off the floor so it does not get wet.