I grew up in a house hold that was poor.

However, because of having 2 incomes in the household, my wife and I got phased out, and I cannot claim those losses against my w2 income.

They will take on roomates and/or consolidate households.

How many months before I buy a house should I start buying household items (furniture, kitchenware etc.)?  

There is a free version (that doesn't include web hosting) it is very helpful for managing a household or even a 1-2 person business.I only have one blog post but it is about this topic: http://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/4582/blog_posts/43679-complete-office-technology-solution-for-5-month

Decide if household chores will be shared or not.

We look for total household income (not individual) that is 3x the rent.

@Josh Braun Great advice...we've been a 1 income household for the last 7-8 years, so we're hoping that with my wife's income we can save this quickly.

When I buy places, I fix them up nice, and I rent only to people with a clean background, good income and stable household (as much as I can ascertain).

And a few minor household repairs will be done by the end of next week.