This is a common question but there's no perfect answer.

Knowing this would your opinion still be to live in the home vs. find the perfect tenant?

Banks avoid risk for a reason.Paying cash is perfectly fine - I do it all the time. 

A buyers market means that there is more supply and demand so buyers can get the best deals at this time.Sellers market means that its the perfect opportunity for sellers to sell their home.

One thing that is a struggle for me is that I did not make sure everything was perfect prior to renting my properties.

The wife and I are looking at this property tonight, not as a rental, but as a potential new primary residence for us and our children:https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/12161-E-French-...It's not perfect for our family style, but it does have a nice amount of space. 

In a perfect world, sure, it's not a total loss or a terrible deal to get the properties in your scenario.

The scenery and outdoor activities fit our lifestyle perfectly.

Thank you guys and look forward to learning more and hopefully meeting new people on my journey.Enrique Perfect timing.

I've had people get mail for 3 years and then their situation changes and by golly, the timing was perfect for my letter and they never recalled any of the other mail over the past years.