My favorite line from Geoff was "What is the ONE thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary." 

I'm just trying to prevent headaches here if possible - would really like to just sign the lease agreement but wanted to get some feedback on if this sounds like a "skip it" situation or if we should suck it up and if there are also ways to protect ourselves or 'manage' the landlords so that we can prevent these types of issues from arising.

What you are asking of him is reasonable to prevent future miscommunication.

I believe right now in NY state (and some other states) that you may be prevented from evicting due to moratoriums due to the covid pandemic.

After these expenses and all others split 50/50.I know this seems a little OCD, ( it would not be the first time I was accused of that) but it seems the most fair way to split, and possibly could prevent disputes or sore feelings.   

After removal of the drywall and floor coverings the wood structure and framing would be treated with a surface applied water-based encapsulating sealer to help prevent the release of any odors that have penetrated into the wood components.

Rely on your criteria and try your best to not let the emotions prevent you from jumping in.

And I still screwed it up, I was just lazy and took a shortcut against my better knowledge. 99% of our tenants are great; they take good care of the property, rent is on autopay, my guys do an annual inspection in fall, we fix things as soon as we know about them and we do preventative maintenance. 

Floorboards tend to be tongue and groove with a special profile on the bottom side to prevent warping.Good Luck!  

.), but it is quite another thing to prevent it from permeating up through the ground.Even a sump pump will be of marginal use, as you would have to pump off the first few feet of the ground water that will be immediately replaced by new water via gravity.I have building like this, and it ain't fun.