Newbie - weird situation, now sure where to start

[Julia Carminati]

Hi all, I've been lurking around BP for a few weeks now, and have been second guessing whether I should wait to begin my REI ventures. My husband and I are currently renting our home and looking to buy a primary residence this year. We were put on hold due to Fannie Mae's changes in Short Sale lending requirements last year so had to wait - I have a short sale on my credit from Sept 2012 so any conventional (FHA/USDA) financing is out of the question until this Sept. Meanwhile, we've decided to start a small agriculture business so now the goal is to purchase our primary residence on an acre+ in a rural area of town and run the business on a section of our property. I'm fairly certain both of our incomes together will disqualify us for a USDA loan, so we're back to FHA.

So I guess, my questions are: 1. Are the financial calculators any help when purchasing a primary residence and 2. Am I definitely unable to go into REI if I can't even get a loan for a primary residence until my 3 years are up?

Both of our credit scores are in the 700s but income disparity prevents my husband from taking the loans in his name only.  Should I just be biding my time until the end of the year?