Doctor Loans in Houston, TX

The Doctor Mortgage Problem

You graduated medical school with six figures of student loans, started residency on a salary that barely covers Houston rent, and somewhere along the way you decided to buy a house near the Texas Medical Center, in Bellaire, or in Sugar Land. A conventional lender looks at your debt-to-income ratio, sees the student loan balance, and tells you to put 20% down or pay PMI. An FHA loan caps out below the price you actually need.

The doctor loan program (sometimes called a physician mortgage) was built to solve this. Lenders treat your medical training as the asset it is. They use flexible student loan calculations, count a signed employment contract as income, waive PMI even at 100% loan-to-value, and let you borrow up to $2 million on a single-family home. It is the most efficient way for a Houston physician, dentist, or veterinarian to buy a home in their first 10 years of practice.

Who Qualifies

At least one occupying borrower must hold and actively practice with one of the following degrees:

• Medical Doctor (MD)
• Doctor of Osteopathy (DO)
• Doctor of Dental Science or Surgery (DDS)
• Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD)
• Doctor of Ophthalmology (MD or DO)
• Doctor of Psychiatry (MD or DO)
• Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD)
• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM or VMD)
• Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM)
• Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) with a DNAP or DNP
• Medical residents, fellows, and interns holding any of the above degrees

Some of these are not "doctors" in the colloquial sense, but they are eligible because the program was designed around heavy education debt loads and predictable, contract-based earning curves.

Program Highlights

• Up to 100% financing: Zero down is possible at the top tier. Lower LTVs unlock better pricing, but you do not have to put a dollar down to qualify.
• No mortgage insurance: No PMI, no MIP, no LPMI, no funding fee. This alone can save $200 to $700 per month versus FHA or conventional at the same loan size.
• Loan amounts up to $2,000,000: Sufficient for most Houston physician home prices, including single-family homes in Bellaire (77401), West University (77005), Memorial Villages, the Heights, River Oaks, and Sugar Land.
• Resident, fellow, and intern friendly: Use a signed employment contract for income, with the start date no later than 150 days after your note date.
• Flexible student loan handling: Income-driven repayment (IDR) plan payments are typically used as the qualifying DTI payment, rather than 1% of the loan balance.
• Single-unit primary residences: Single family homes, PUDs, condos, and co-ops. Owner-occupied only.
• Purchase and rate-and-term refinance: Both transaction types are eligible. Cash-out refinance is generally not available, and the loan cannot be combined with secondary financing.

How Residents and Fellows Qualify

This is the feature that makes the doctor loan program unique. Most loan programs require you to already be earning the income you want to use to qualify. The physician program lets you use projected attending income from a signed employment contract, as long as:

• You provide a fully executed offer letter or employment contract showing your start date and base compensation
• Your start date is no later than 150 days after the note date (the day your loan closes)
• You may need additional reserves (extra months of payments in liquid assets) when projected income is used

Translation: a fellow finishing in July can close on a Houston home in May using their attending salary, before the new job has paid them a single dollar. We see this most often with Baylor College of Medicine, McGovern (UTHealth), MD Anderson, Texas Children's, Houston Methodist, and Memorial Hermann graduates moving directly into Houston-area attending positions.

How Student Loans Are Treated

Heavy student loan balances are exactly why this program exists. Conventional Fannie Mae guidelines often require lenders to count 1% of the outstanding student loan balance as the monthly payment for DTI purposes. On $300,000 of medical school debt, that is a phantom $3,000/month payment that can crush your debt-to-income ratio even though your real IDR payment is $400.

Doctor loan programs use flexible student loan calculations tailored to medical professionals:

• If you are on an income-driven repayment plan (IBR, PAYE, REPAYE, SAVE, ICR), most physician programs use the actual IDR payment shown on your servicer statement
• If your loans are deferred or in forbearance, lenders often use the IDR-equivalent payment rather than 1% of the balance
• Loans being pursued for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) are typically counted at the IDR payment, not the balance

This is the single biggest difference between a doctor loan and a conventional loan for an early-career physician.

Property and Occupancy Rules

• Primary residence only. You and at least one eligible borrower must occupy the home as your principal residence.
• Single-unit only. Single family homes, planned unit developments (PUDs), warrantable condos, and co-ops are eligible. Duplexes, triplexes, and four-unit properties are not.
• No investment properties. If you are buying a Houston rental, see our DSCR and investment property loans page.
• No second homes. The doctor loan program is for the home you live in.

Doctor Loan vs. Conventional vs. Jumbo vs. FHA

Here is how the doctor loan stacks up against the other options a Houston physician typically considers:

• Doctor loan: 0 to 10% down, no PMI, IDR student loan payments, contract-based income for residents. Loan amounts to $2M. Rate slightly above conventional but no PMI almost always wins on monthly payment.
• Conventional: 3 to 20% down, PMI required below 20% equity, full income documentation, 1% of student loan balance unless on a documented IDR plan. Best rates if you have 20% down and clean DTI.
• Jumbo: Typically 10 to 20% down on loans above the conforming limit. Reserves of 6 to 12 months. Strong fit if your loan size is over $2M or you have substantial assets but do not qualify under physician guidelines.
• FHA: 3.5% down, but loan limits are well below most Houston physician home prices and the upfront and monthly mortgage insurance is permanent for the life of the loan. Rarely the best fit for an attending.

We run all four scenarios when a Houston physician asks us to price a home, then show you the total cost over your expected hold period. No PMI on a doctor loan typically beats a conventional loan with PMI even when the doctor loan rate is 0.25 to 0.50% higher.

Houston Specialties We Work With

The Texas Medical Center is the largest medical center in the world by employment. We have closed doctor loans for Houston buyers across the full range of eligible specialties:

• Physicians (MD, DO): Internal medicine, surgery, anesthesiology, radiology, oncology, cardiology, pediatrics, OB/GYN, emergency medicine, family medicine, ophthalmology, psychiatry
• Dentists (DDS, DMD): General dentistry, orthodontics, periodontics, oral surgery, endodontics, pediatric dentistry
• Veterinarians (DVM, VMD): Small animal, equine, exotic, and specialty veterinary practitioners
• Pharmacists (PharmD): Hospital, retail, clinical, and ambulatory care pharmacists
• Podiatrists (DPM) and CRNAs with a DNAP or DNP
• Residents, fellows, and interns at Baylor, McGovern, Houston Methodist, Texas Children's, MD Anderson, and Memorial Hermann

The Application Process

1. Pre-qualification (1 to 2 days): We review your degree, employment status (or signed contract), credit, assets, and student loan documentation. You will know your buying power and target rate range quickly.
2. Document gathering: Most recent pay stubs (or signed employment contract for residents and incoming attendings), tax returns, asset statements, student loan servicer statements showing IDR payment, license verification, and proof of degree.
3. Pre-approval: Full underwriting review with the physician lender best matched to your profile. We compare a doctor loan against conventional and jumbo to confirm it is the right product.
4. Home search and closing: Same process as any mortgage. 30 to 45 day close. See our Houston Buyer Guide for the full step-by-step. If you are relocating to Houston for residency or an attending position, our Houston relocation guide covers neighborhoods near the Med Center.

Get Pre-Qualified for a Doctor Loan

Send us your degree, your current pay stubs (or signed contract), and a recent student loan servicer statement. We will tell you exactly what you qualify for, run the doctor loan against conventional and jumbo so you can see the side-by-side, and get you under contract with confidence. Start with our mortgage analyzer or apply directly.

Ben Helstein | NMLS# 1577314 | InSync Homes & Loans