My contractor placed the tile with one corner first and allowed it to gently drop into place moving it back and forth gently massaging it into place.both methods work let me wrap this up. if you are laying a long flooring tile . you will sometimes find that the tile may rock when putting it down meaning one side is too high the other side is too low. my solution was to add thinset to the low side this sometimes made the tile uneven with the adjacent tile. my contractors solution was to cut the tile at that point of the rocking. so that now two pieces of were  on either side of the high point. this method proved effective although shortening the tile considerably. so this is a method to be used sparingly and only when necessary. all in all my floor came out very good both the floors my contractor did and the flooring i did. there are more tips but I see this is becoming way too long to sit and read. 

Along with Steve's gentle manner!

(Think prostate exam or a colonoscopy)  Luckily, in my opinion, the banks are much more gentle this time around.  

They last 5-10 years and a lot of times all needed is clean, buff and re coat.

But there's something different about this dog, his mannerism, his gentleness, his NON aggressiveness, that makes him truly just a big lover dog.  

I'll have to think on that a bit more.So it sounds like next steps would probably be: 1. look into a real estate attorney and what the fees would be to draw up the papers2. gently broach the subject with the family to see what the initial response is3. depending on #2, get a contractor to come take a look, and4. ask my realtor for comps for current value and ARV.THEN I can decide if it is worth pursuing financing and making this happen.  

So please be gentle with it. 4.

Can't help gently pointing out that, despite assurances from my colleagues @Daniel Hyman, @Ashish Acharya and @Basit Siddiqi, it is not automatically "100% deductible."

The first thing I'd do is try some gentle cleaner, like a deck cleaner.

Gently speaking I think we are reaching diminishing returns.Focusing on the problem at hand the group has generated several viable options that her brother can explore.I would say that keeping it civil with the landlord and avoiding legal threats will probably help get to a solution faster assuming the landlord is a decent person.