You can't even change a lightbulb.You or your family can't use or live in the property.

I am planning on living in the house next year and renting out the other rooms (3 bed 2 bath).

Everyone makes some wrong moves at various times of their lives so I wouldn't worry about that. 

So bottom line they got away with it and are living in a beautiful safe clean country. 

I have worked with many experienced investors from Southern California, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson, Denver, and other large metro areas in the southwest and west coast, with seasoned investors that still live in all of those great cities but have shifted most of their real estate investments out of those higher cost or higher risk markets into ours. 1) Compared to most cities in the SW and West, home prices in the Albuquerque metro are relatively affordable.

Either live in or rent out for a couple of years?

Live in Stouffville, ON just north of Markham! 

If you are willing to sacrifice part of your life style, you can always consider living one room/unit of the house and rent out the other vacant unit out to lower your monthly mortgage payments!

If you are willing to house hack and live in one unit of a 4 plex, this would work.

He has them put sweat equity into homes to live in and he carries them.