It sounds like you will be a successful owner which is amazing! 

Allegedly they were scammed by a fake landlord posing as property owner. 

Build an SMB on top of your real estate (the reverse of #2)Short-term rentals and high owner-participation real estate businesses can have great returns.Obviously not for you if you just want passive RE.We are in the deep end here, where each case should be judged on its own facts and merits by your CPA.You should hire a professional to review your particular situation before you make an investment.

They can limit what property owners can do, including house hacking.Even if the city has no restrictions, if legally binding and properly recorded, covenants can enforce rules that supersede local ordinances for those living within the neighborhood.

If there is a problematic tenant, I always ask that the property is VACANT @ COE.If the current owner wants to close, they will have it vacant before we issue a clear to close.

I cold emailed and called the owner multiple times and eventually we connected, met in person and made a deal over the course of a few months.How did you finance this deal?

The one property was owner financed with low interest rates.

You can get more than one VA loan depending on your allotment and you don't need to owner-occupy the second one so I would look into that first.

If they are on different tax parcels, I will use DSCR for the non-primary deals and then FHA or UDSA (assuming it is rural) for the owner-occupied one. 

The current owners have extremely low occupancy and are open to selling.