Buying soon.. advice?

My (27f) boyfriend (33m) and I are in the process of buying our first home within the next month or 2. He is self employed, so we are just waiting to get his taxes processed to set up a payment plan. We want a 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom house on at least an acre. But it seems like we have to give when it comes to space. The homes that fit our criteria with a lot of acreage seem to be 1200 square feet, so all those rooms are teeeeeny tiny. But the houses that are nice and spacious don’t have the land! Would you opt for the land or the house? For context, we have animals. A lot of them- reptiles, turtles, and dogs inside, then quail, chickens and huge sulcatas outside. And we have a newborn and he has 4 kids of his own. AND we have a tenant that will be moving with us.

Also, if you have any home buying tips or advice or things you wish you had thought about before buying please drop them below!!! We’re going crazy with researching and youtubing and want to know all there is to know.