My husband and I are in a disagreement about how to proceed with our finances. He needs a vehicle very soon and we will need to purchase a new home within a year (hopefully). I will provide some hypothetical numbers:

We have $20,000.
Currently, we are debt free minus approximately $1,100 on a credit card I am aggressively paying off.

Husband wants to buy a used vehicle with cash, approximately $8,000

I believe he should take a loan so we can pay it fairly quickly, while avoiding the immediate loss of 8k. The side benefit would be a boost in his credit score (his credit is quite low, mine is over 712 so I would likely co-sign)

He is against this, believing that if we have an outstanding auto loan we will not qualify for a home loan. My concern is that eliminating our savings by 40% leaves us vulnerable as well as diminishes our funds to pay for a down payment, etc. involved with buying a home.

Note:
Our home budget is aprox. 80-90k (quite attainable in our area)
Our current home has virtually zero value but sits on 1 acre, which is worth approx. 15k

I know this is a very general scenario but my husband at this point is unwilling to consult a professional. I'd really appreciate some opinions/feedback.

Definitely don't buy it in cash. I would recommend taking out a loan for the car for as long as you can before you decide to buy a home. It is important that a month before you buy the home, you FINISH paying off the car loan. Make sure this lasts more than 6 months so that it actually increases your credit score. After that you can definitely start looking for a home, with a little better credit, with the car that you need, and your saving can even increase in this time frame, if possible.

I am a cash person, sorry, but you pay cash, and then the money you would have paid in payments each month you put back in the bank, all of a sudden you made 10 percent or more interest on the money if you pay yourself the interest you would have paid a loan company.

You money is setting make less than 1 percent so its best use is o pay off any debt, so why create a debt you don't have to.

Then pay yourself this loan back, so you will have all of that money plus he interest before you go to buy a home.

Next what type of home do you have, Why does it have no value ?