If your chips are ever down, but job secure, will you be happy you borrowed $12k from yourself for this? 

Chipped?

The walls weren't dirty, but they had nicks, dents, chipped paint, and holes EVERYWHERE! 

Since 2003ish, most alarms chip after 7 years - forcing you to replace.  

I think you are doing the right thing by trying to use the knob and tube as a bargaining chip.

The borrower is the chip and the pegs on the Plinko board are the various obstacles to a borrower getting the right program (closing the loan is an entirely other Plinko board). 

I don't want to end up coordinating with 40 partners who each chip in $5,000 just to make a down payment on a smaller apartment complex.2) Liquidity / time it takes to access funds.3) Length of time I should require the funds to be invested in the deal before we "Cash out / Buy out" any one person or the whole deal.In general, I'm thinking that the bigger the deal, the larger amount I'd want to ask for from each investor and the term to leave it in the deal would get longer. 

Over the course of time chipping away day after day makes a huge difference. 

Offer to "chip in" since you receive benefit from it too. 

depends on type of termites, active or old infestation, where the damage is, etc...i would use it as a bargaining chip.