Note that depreciation and time held will be big jokers in this whole scenario.

And were so Tapped financially  we had no choice but to put it on a back burner, move into my inlaws basement, and loose our stability, security, and stash.

Your luck may be better and you are not assigned to the jokers I dealt with, but it would not be worth the gamble for me.

And that's our fault for electing the jokers we do, we elect popular people, those we "like" vs those who are smart, good at running things.

. :( Everything you get, stash in a little folder in your carry on.

His soon to be exwife and ex stepdaughter reached out to me and sent a video of his stash but my attorney said it wont be any good since it doesnt have a recent timestamp on it or a video that he is using drugs in the unit.

Stash the extra money you can save in an index fund like VTI or something that is getting you a good ROI while you build up your equity for your HELOC, this way you're saving up some down payment money while your equity in your home builds. 

If you let your 401K grow and stash up money for investments how long would it take for you to get to your goal? 

Real Estate is too much fun and always a good safe place to stash your money...plus you're helping to provide quality housing for your neighbors.So do you want to play it safe?

@Mike BarryYes, your income will be lower both for tax purposes and for loan underwriting purposes.Lenders look at your ability to pay back the loan, and stashing money into your retirement account does limit the money available for repaying the loan.That said, declining to fund your 401k just to qualify for a loan may be short-sighted.