I am looking to play the long game and invest in real estate to secure a future for my wife, and my children. 

Remember our tenants are not children, even though some may act that way.  

I furnish them with the appliances and furniture that people will have when they rent it.  3 or 4 weeks of rent pays for all the appliances and furniture.  6 months of rent pays for the house. 

I had some clients who just wanted to get out of the house all their adult children were living in!  

thanks @Moises Mari good points.So tenant is out finally and I actually ended up making a deal with him, where he left some of his furniture and appliances for the money he owed me.

While the City says that this law only applies to families with children that are six years old or younger, you are practically required to comply with it due to this law's interaction with FHA.

I took several years off of REI to raise my small children, while working a full time job as an application developer.

No ugly furniture or anything degrading your property.

After all of our other expenses (we have young children) saving has been pretty difficult and we're living paycheck to paycheck most months.

The reference told me that he will pay the first month and not pay again and that he has children so it will be extremely hard to evict him.