SDR I hear you. I have just ended renting for a year with three boys four and under. The landlord ended up being pretty good even though even my little guys kept turning the sprinkler timer off.He believed us when we told him the things that broke did so because they were on the last leg including the dishwasher door. He gave us 100% of our deposit back. We did choose deliberately to get a house that was clean but not fancy and a little run down with no landscaping in the back yard.We probably actually paid a little more for it than it was worth. Which is the opposite of what I do as a landlord to get good tenants. It was in Rancho San Diego which was fine,for renting. We have never been so loved by our neighbors it was amazing!
That said it was hard to wait to move to our property as the house got closer to completion.
You are kind of in a bind selling to others but not your wife. Gotta make it difficult to convince her.