He was planning on preparing for a competitive  national entrance exam to a prestigious postgraduate school in a foreign country in the next year.

I actually don't know if there is any reported case law on this, but it would be stupid for a court to hold that the landlord is in breach in such a situation. 

Hey Daniel, I wrestle with this question daily ;)CAP rates are certainly compressed across the entire country.

Otherwise, if it is a Judicial foreclosure process you can likely go into court before the judge, convince him, get the sale date postponed.

I'm just trying to vet some areas of the country where I might want to buy as my local area (Seattle) isn't very conducive for starting out. 

Or should I pursue legal action and try taking them to court after the move out to get the last months rent?

I'm looking at properties on Auction.com and I see in the Terms and Conditions a statement noting that upset bids can be accepted by the clerk of the superior court the following day and the original winning bidder has the opportunity to place another bid after that.  

That seems like a reasonably high number but like I said this property is a nightmare to manage from across the country.

Just for background, this home was one we lived in for a year (FHA loan) before moving across the country for work.

If $100 will get her out, it seem worth it to try, it puts the ball in her court if she wants to go to the effort of taking it before a judge.