I am not pressed to buy in Boston - of course the market is very pricey there.

You'd be hard pressed to find one here that would allow you to short-term rent their home while doing a long-term lease with them.

When I pressed I got the same response. 

Then press on.

Just re-read my lease again and definitely going to press my PM company it says this: "Lessee is expected to maintain and care for the property, which includes, but is not limited to the following: Pest control including but not limited to mice, ants, small rodents, etc."

I am hoping to find a partner that I could potentially have on my bench to do future projects with and even cut them in when possible.

Some banks call in commercial loans and freeze HELOCs when the value of the real estate declines.From reading stories in the business press, many "rich people" in 2007 were not so rich in 2009 after being forced to sell their illiquid holdings at fire-sale prices during the 2008 meltdown.

I think you would be hard pressed to find many people that agree with this "That $10k gap is an irrelevant amount of money."

Should I press this with them?

If they press you about the meetings, you can tell them about the real estate agent and the construction company.