The hurdle is the income calculation. Your credit and down payment are fine. Self-employment income is generally documented with two years of tax returns operating the same business, averaged, and the number that counts is the net after business expenses. A $70,000 year and a $12,000 year blend to roughly $41,000 over 24 months, which falls well short of what a $450,000 purchase needs. Even at that price on FHA, once mortgage insurance and property taxes go on top, the payment realistically lands closer to $3,300 than your $3,000 target, and in much of Southern California a home at that price likely carries an HOA that pushes it higher again. Two paths worth exploring: - Conventional over FHA. With a 760 credit score, a conventional loan at around 3% down often makes more sense than FHA at your credit tier, since strong credit prices well on the conventional side and there's no ongoing FHA mortgage insurance (confirm current program requirements). - A one-year exception, possibly. Two years of returns is the default, and there are only narrow exceptions. Fannie Mae's DU can allow one year of personal and business returns when the business has existed for five years and you've owned 25% or more of it for the last five consecutive years. Separately, someone with a shorter self-employment history can sometimes qualify on one year when the most recent return covers a full 12 months and the file documents prior similar income in the same field. If your stronger $70,000 year is the most recent filed return, those questions are worth asking precisely. The honest next step is getting your actual returns analyzed rather than estimating from the outside. Self-employed income is where most rough guesses go wrong, and the right structure can change what you qualify for. A free Roadmap conversation (about 20 minutes) is where we run your real numbers.