How long was any contingency, and did you  meet it? 

Are there any contingencies on getting this back if something comes up as in a residential deal (inspection, environmental, non-compliance, etc.)?

Which means that I could have still established savings for home repairs like the A/C going out and would have been just fine.So for all of these articles that say buying a house will ruin you financially, I counter your argument with this: buying a house outside of your means without a contingency plan and expecting everything to go exactly perfect in your future will ruin you financially.

@Noah Farley Step 1 is putting the property under contract at the $25k price and making sure to include a 15 day inspection contingency somewhere within the contract.

I’d make sure to add that as a clause to my contract that I expect those documents within 7 days (less than the inspection contingency so if something is awry, I can get out if needed)

This means that l, should your buyer default on the purchase after the contingency period the seller can’t sue him for more than the earnest money he put down.    

As a result we agreed to purchase the house AS-IS but we wanted an "out" just in case I couldnt find anyone (for whatever reason) and we put down a mortgage contingency but didnt fill out any of the specifics. 

So think minimal contingencies,  flexibility to let the short sale approval process happen but then quick time from approval to close.  

The renovation costs may include a contingency reserve and renovation-related costs.Contingency Reserves: Contingency reserves 10 % required for any unforeseen cost overruns that may occur during construction.Unused contingency reserves that were financed into the loan will be applied to the principal balance of the loan.

Put an offer in contingent on inspection.