Cash in hand but nothing else

[Omar Guerrero]

Hey guys I could really use some help. Today is my first post and I just upgraded to pro member because I am tired of watching from the sidelines. My name is Omar and I am dead afraid of real estate. I started my quest in 2004 when I scrapped up enough money to buy my first house. I was 26 years old and I wrote a letter to the owner of the ugliest house I had ever seen and three months later he finally called and we struck a deal I couldn't refuse. I spent the next four years sinking every dollar I had and could borrow into the house and building sweat equity. I paid 120k I sank 90k into it and the house was valued at $276,000 not bad right especially for someone only making $30,000 at the time. Then it all happened, my mother almost died so I left home to care for her for almost a year, my marriage went to $&1t, the market crashed and I lost my job. I ended up short selling for $170,000 because I couldn't produce enough to keep my house. It took years for me to recover and get my life straightened back out and now that I can afford it I'm a bit apprehensive. I really want to purchase and hold but I have a few obstacles I need help with 1) I'm dead afraid 2) I don't have great credit (620-650) 3) I opened my own company in 2014 and have not filed my taxes yet so I have a gap as far as income and I have not found a bank that would touch me with a 10ft pole. All I have is my 2013 taxes I have a pretty good sized deposit to do this but don't know if I should try to wait until I can get all my ducks in a row and buy a few properties or just jump in now and put what I have all on one so my mortgage is low. Can anyone point me in the right direction.