Doctor Loans (Physician Mortgage)

Doctor loans in Florida exist for one reason: they let a lender ignore the student debt that would otherwise sink your debt-to-income ratio.

Key features of doctor loans in Florida

• Zero to 10% down with no private mortgage insurance
• Student debt treated favourably, using the income-driven payment or excluded outright
• Future income accepted from a signed employment contract, often before you start
• Higher debt-to-income allowances than conventional guidelines
• Open to MDs, DOs, DMDs, DDSs and other advanced medical degrees
• Loan amounts above $2 million
• Usually within ten years of finishing residency, though this varies by lender

The student loan rule is the whole product

Take a physician finishing residency with $280,000 in student debt and a signed contract at $310,000. Under conventional guidelines, a lender that cannot see an active payment must impute one, commonly 0.5% to 1% of the balance. That invents a $1,400 to $2,800 monthly obligation before you have bought anything, and it can push your ratio past approval on its own.

A doctor loan handles it differently. Most programs count the actual income-driven repayment amount, which may be a few hundred dollars, and several exclude deferred student debt entirely. That single difference frequently decides whether the file works, and it matters far more than the down payment headline.

The second useful feature is timing. Because these programs accept a signed employment contract, you can often close up to 60 or 90 days before your first day, which suits anyone relocating for a new position.

When a conventional loan is the better deal

Doctor loans usually carry a slightly higher rate, since the lender keeps them on its own books rather than selling them. That premium is worth paying when it buys you an approval you could not otherwise get. It is not worth paying otherwise.

Therefore run both. If you have 20% to put down, or your student debt is modest or already in steady repayment, a conventional loan will often cost less across the life of the loan even after PMI. Meanwhile if you are early career with heavy deferred debt and limited cash, the doctor loan is usually the only thing that works. Ask for both quotes and compare the monthly payment side by side, not the rate.

Who this suits

• Physicians and dentists within a few years of finishing training
• Doctors relocating to Florida with a signed contract but no local employment history
• High-income professionals whose student debt distorts their ratios
• Buyers who would rather keep cash invested than commit it to a down payment

Florida-specific notes

• Florida’s growing hospital systems draw physicians relocating from other states each year
• Insurance costs feed your ratio here, so a coastal property can consume the headroom the program gave you
• Condo purchases still face association review, which no doctor program overrides
• Because Florida levies no state income tax, take-home pay on the same salary goes further than in most states

Figures above are illustrative. Physician mortgage programs are portfolio products, so eligibility, student debt treatment and the years-since-residency window are set by each lender and change often. The CFPB owning a home guide covers comparing offers.