In both instances, there is either an internal (personal, family etc.) or external (nonpersonal, economic etc.) factor influencing the decision.A seller with a balloon or adjustable rate mortgage will have a mighty good reason to sell and avoid foreclosure if they can't refinance to avoid paying off entire loan balance or get a lower affordable rate.

At least one instance of a utility bill like electric/water/internetIt’s really easy to check and make sure that you are paying these consistently, but it’s also easy for a lot of folks to informally pay roommates/parents/loved ones for these types of services.

@Dane KaniaSeems to me this comes down to trust/risk tolerance levels.Main hurdle I see is protecting the downside - for instance let's say he gives you funds tied to your half equity in advance - what happens if you struggle to make payments on the line of credit that are now needed - now there's a lien on the property. 

For instance, if I have an amazing handyman, I don't need to know how to fix a toilet myself as long as he knows how to do it.

For instance, In the last property I turned into a rental the municipal inspector who gave me my C of O insisted that every single counter-top outlet in the kitchen needed to be a GFCI, just like every single outlet in the laundry room and every single outlet in the bathroom.

For instance, let's say you generally charge $80 for a service call. 

In one instance they followed through on that. 

The buyer asked for an extension because it was Christmas and they needed to buy presents for whomever.  

Many instances I will let them know what my foreclosure bid is so they can win it at foreclosure.

I have used both extensively as a Contractor and could not tolerate that they - both - would put long holds on my deposits.