Sorry to hear about this bad situation.In your shoes I would do nothing that in any way benefited myself. 

I’ll assume you did your due diligence before purchasing at the Sheriff’s sale and you checked for liens, back taxes, code violations etc.  

They are off-market and can really benefit from not having to fix things up before putting on the market.

The benefit was condition of properties was not as stringent and you can sell them separately.  

The benefit is having lower living expenses and having someone else help pay down the mortgage.You need to do the analysis as if you are no longer living there.  

I would think your a slam dunk at a bank.. but Visio is for real.and your smart to know that there are all sorts of fake lenders on the internet.good place to start is to see if they are licensed and then look up their license.. also dont let the tax dog wag your tail.. sometimes its best just to take your cash pay cap gains at these historic low rates then to buy something that is not going to do much for you.and if you don't get the benefit of no state income tax in Texas i would be cautious with that state prop tax's and other weather issues. 

The "accessory short term rental" code variances are for residential zones. 

I currently do not own a home and rent myself so I see the benefits of locally purchasing a multifamily unit to use as my primary residence and REI.

This is precisely the benefit of having a buyer's agent. 

You have the wonderful benefit of having lived there, so that is huge.