[MineralMan]

Basically, that's it. A No Doc loan is based on your statement of your income and your credit score. Watch yourself on this, and don't get hooked into any fancy loans. If you stick with a fixed rate, long-term loan with a substantial downpayment, you'll be OK, as long as the payments are doable without strain.

However, the interest rate on such a loan will be a bit higher than a traditional 30-year mortgage. You might want to think about just a straight loan where you have to provide the documentation.

[NYFriend]

Thanks. What's considered a "substantial down payment"? I took a home buying class from a broker last year (adult ed. classes are a great deal, it cost me $10). The broker said you need to have about 12% of the purchase price on hand as cash to cover taxes, fees, inspections and down payment. It worked out to be about 5% down, which sounds pretty low.

[walford]

I recall G. Gordon Liddy saying on numerous occassions to never buy real estate w/o a lawyer.

You'll notice that the buyers in this story felt queasy about the 'no-doc' loan scenario, but their 'eagerness' overcame any thoughts of prudence. So they went ahead anyway.

Sometimes our initial instincts are correct.