<prompt> Human: My husband and I have been renting a house we love in Virginia for a few years now and the landlord has decided to sell it. We didnt feel like we were in quite the right place financially to buy it at market value 340k but they just listed the place as a short sale in as-is condition for 300k. We have been spending the last 9 years or so padding our retirement accounts and emergency savings, and havent really saved up much specifically for a down payment. Now that our retirement accounts and emergency savings are in a great place, we had planned on refocusing our efforts towards a good down payment over the next couple of years to buy a house in the area, but now we arent sure if it would be worth buying ahead of schedule using our current assets because of this short sale opportunity.The house is perfect for us and we have lived here long enough to know that it has no major problems. The heater was replaced a year and a half ago, and the AC unit was replaced 1 year ago. If we purchased we would probably want to stay in this house for at least another 5 years, but probably want to move into a detached single family home in the next 10 years. There is basically no real estate in this super-inflated area that is cheaper than this other than a one bedroom condo, so buying a cheaper place isnt really an option for us. As far as our investment goes, the real estate market in this area is booming and housing prices are rising quickly. And in the next 5 years we should have a metro station in our area, so I would imagine prices would increase even further. I think our biggest issue right now is that very recently I took a major leap and quit my soul-crushing job of 8 years to become self-employed. Its been great so far but I havent been at it long enough to show any sort of reliable income. We have no issue living off of my husbands salary, but Im sure it doesnt look great to a mortgage company. But Im hoping that with our excellent credit scores, low debt, decent assets, and the fact that we are first time home buyers, that maybe we have a chance of getting a decent mortgage. Here are the numbers. Let me know if there is anything else important Im missing...-Our credit scores are 760 and 789. -Husbands Salary: 75kyear, pretty secure with likely raise and bonus soon never counting on it though-Emergency Fund: 18k 6 months of living expenses for both of us. Willing to part with probably 8k towards house-Gift from parents for house down payment: 10k-Retirement Accounts: 155k total 124k is in pre-tax accounts I heard this can help you get a better mortgage rate, is that correct? We would never take money out of our retirement account. -Debt: 9k student loan, 6k car loan, some minor misc. CC debt that we pay off every month.-Current rent payment: 1700month would hope that our mortgage payment PMI taxes HOA fees wouldnt go too much above this. P.S. I know this sounds like a lot for rent, but for our area this is pretty good deal...-Current monthly debt payments: 437.41 for car loan and 259.89 for student loan-Other random assets: Our two cars together are worth about 20k KBB. One we own completely, the other is the one we still owe 6k on. Not willing to part with either of them, but not sure if having them as assets counts towards a mortgage rate reduction or anything. Just trying to be thorough. ___QUESTIONS:1. Would it be stupid to try to buy now without 20 down? Should we just move into another rental and save until we have the full 20?2. Is there anything involved in a short sale that could put up a red flag, if we know the property is in good condition?3. Any tips on first time home buyers in Virginia? Something that might help tip our situation in favor of buying?4. Does buying the house for 300k when its estimated value is listed as being worth 340k help us in regards to this situation? Could we refinance quicker, maybe a year or two, to get rid of paying PMI based on the actual value of the home?5. Do you think we could get a mortgage rate low enough on one salary that our combined monthly payment including taxes, PMI, and HOA fees would be relatively close to our current rent payment? Ive been trying to crunch the numbers, but I just dont know enough about mortgage rates. 6. I assume wed be looking for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage. If there are any other options that wouldnt be a huge risk and might make sense for our situation, Id love to hear about them. 7. Would it be a bad financial decision to jump into this? Would we be laughed out of a bank if we tried to apply for this mortgage in our current state? Were fine not buying if its a bad decision, but we just want to make sure we arent passing up a good offer because of something we dont know. Thank you guys in advance for all of your help! We really appreciate your insight :EDIT: Thank you everyone for your responses! Just a few bits of updated info based on some questions Ive gotten. The landlord originally bought the place for 400k and is upside down on his mortgage, hence the short sale. My husband and I are in our early 30s. Comparable houses in the area, including one a few doors down, are selling for 340-375k. My husband works as chemist and his job is pretty secure right now and his company is doing extremely well. My income used to be around 40k and I expect to be bringing in a similar amount building up over the next year or so but right now Im just starting out working from home. So we have more than 75k coming in to our household, but not necessarily income that a bank will care about.Looking forward to reading through all of these responses and doing a lot more research! Thanks everyone! !  <response>: Talk to a lender and see what they will pre approve you for. I like the idea. The house is a known entity. And it saves you in moving costs. 