I also hired a really good realtor / lender which helped enormously. They beat out a 20% down offer with no inspection

I have! I’m buying a house right now with it. I have decent income, good credit, but didn’t have 20k to put down. I’m buying a house for 285k. It’s small and the morgage is high but not comparably to what I’m paying in rent

If you qualify for the free 17500..you can cover all your downpayment/closing costs and just refinance when rates go down