The priority was putting my kids in a better school district. 

Do they let their kids go out at night?

it seems you have already done quite a bit of homework.

Barely a week later, I meet 'wife's mother (who flew in from the midwest) at door who explained her daughter's boyfriend needs to stop lying to people, that his real situation is they're not yet married and were living in a converted garage and he left the kids home alone while wife was also at work and police were called because one of the kids somehow was found alone wandering the streets and subsequently placed in foster care til she (mother's mother) came to LA area to file for being their legal guardian in the interim.That LA Child Services would not release the kids back to the parents, but agreed to place the kids with a relative if the relative owned or had a lease on an apartment within Los Angeles County, so he found my Signal Hill 2-bedroom apartment (in my 2-family house) for her since they could not use the converted garage as a safe home for daughter's mother to take over the 'lease' on.  

I read this article earlier today, might be worth a minute of your time to read it. http://www.realtor.com/advice/thinking-buying-foreclosure-get-ready-homework/Best of luck to you!

Not only that, you interrupt the sellers lives when they clean their houses, pack up kids and dogs for you to ‘look’.  

I know it's hard to believe but it all part of government and government regulated industry: bad behavior is rewarded, good behavior is punished, failure is rewarded, success is punished. ...Imagine their school-age kids, one who brings home straight A's and gets a pat on the back, the other brings home straight F's and gets handed a C-note

no charge on my part :)I try to do something nice at least once a weekJust kidding about a fee Anyway, try to contacting @Brian Gibbons or @Rob GillespieThere are at least 134 threads here on bigger pockets regarding lease, purchase options , seller financing , etcWhen you our done talking with the above individuals or going through BP threads try your local library for additional education knowledge

They are a young family (upper 20's) with a kid soon to be in kindergarten and another one on the way.

They will just say, Sorry, not allowed, and if you don't do your own homework, you won't know it actually is allowed.