Can a pharmacist get a physician loan with no down payment?
Yes. Pharmacists with a PharmD are eligible for our physician loan program, which offers up to 100% financing on a one-unit primary residence with no private mortgage insurance. In this $995,000 Bull Mountain, Tigard purchase, a first-time buyer qualified with her pharmacist salary plus her husband's RN income (including averaged overtime), used retirement accounts to meet reserves, and covered nearly all cash to close with a 3% seller credit.
Best for: Pharmacists, physicians, dentists, nurse practitioners, CRNAs and other eligible medical professionals who want to buy without draining savings for a down payment.
For years, our clients did what a lot of Portland-area healthcare families do: they rented, saved, and waited for the right moment. She's a full-time pharmacist. He's a registered nurse. Then the family grew, the rental got small, and the question changed from "should we buy?" to "how do we buy without wiping out everything we've saved?" The answer was our physician loan, which covers pharmacists too. They now own a $995,000 home in the Bull Mountain neighborhood of Tigard, with no down payment and no mortgage insurance, and most of their savings are still in the bank. Here's how it came together.
Can Pharmacists Use a Physician Loan?
Yes. The name is misleading. Our physician loan program is built for a defined list of medical professionals, not just MDs. Eligible degrees include MD and DO physicians, dentists (DDS and DMD), pharmacists (PharmD), nurse practitioners (NP), CRNAs, veterinarians (DVM/VMD) and podiatrists (DPM). Residents and fellows holding those degrees qualify too. Many pharmacists never hear about the program because they assume "physician" means "doctor." Our borrower was one of them. She came to us expecting to put 5% to 10% down on a conventional loan.
What Did the Buyers Need?
Their goals were simple: - More space for a growing family, after years of renting - Washington County, close to work, in a neighborhood they loved - Keep their savings. They didn't want to empty their accounts for a down payment and start homeownership with no cushion Bull Mountain checked the boxes: quiet streets, room to grow, and an easy drive to the Highway 217 and I-5 job corridors. The hard part was making the numbers work for a bigger home without a large down payment.
How Did They Qualify for a Bigger Home?
We pre-approved them on both incomes. Her full-time pharmacist salary was the base. Her husband's RN salary was added, including his overtime averaged over time. Nurses often earn a meaningful share of their pay from overtime and extra shifts, and averaging that history let us count it. Overtime generally needs a documented track record, typically about two years, and it has to be stable or rising to count in full. If your overtime is new or has dropped, we'll walk through how much of it underwriting is likely to use before you shop. Combining the two incomes raised their buying power enough to buy the larger home their family needed: a $995,000 purchase. Want to test your own numbers? Model a zero-down payment on our physician loan calculator, or check your ratios with the debt-to-income calculator.
How Does 100% Financing Work with No Mortgage Insurance?
On most loans, putting less than 20% down means paying private mortgage insurance every month. The physician program removes both hurdles: qualified borrowers can finance up to 100% of the purchase price on a one-unit primary residence, and there's no PMI. For this family, that meant: - $0 down payment - No monthly mortgage insurance, so more of each payment goes to principal and interest - Savings left in place for moving costs, furnishing and an emergency fund For tiers, credit scores and loan limits, see our Enhanced Physician Loan update.
Can Retirement Accounts Count Toward Reserves?
Yes, and it made a big difference here. Reserves are money left over after closing, measured in months of mortgage payments. Because this loan was above 95% LTV, the program required three months of reserves. Our clients met that requirement with their retirement accounts. They didn't withdraw anything; the balances only needed to be documented. That meant they didn't have to pile up extra cash in checking just to satisfy underwriting. Their retirement savings stayed invested, and their liquid savings stayed available for life.
How Did a 3% Seller Credit Cover the Cash to Close?
With no down payment, the remaining cash to close was mostly closing costs and prepaids: lender and title fees, escrow, prepaid interest, and the initial deposit for taxes and insurance. We structured the offer with a 3% seller credit, and it covered nearly all of it. Seller credits have limits that depend on the loan program and your down payment, and they can only pay real closing costs, not the down payment itself. Our guide to closing costs in Oregon and California explains how concessions work.
Is a Physician Loan Right for You?
It's worth a look if you: - Hold an eligible degree (MD, DO, DDS, DMD, PharmD, NP, CRNA, DVM, DPM) - Are buying a one-unit primary residence in Oregon or California - Want to keep cash in savings rather than put it into a down payment - Have a spouse or partner whose income, including overtime, can strengthen the file First-time buyers who aren't in a medical field have options too. See our first-time buyer programs. If you're shopping in Beaverton, Hillsboro, Tigard or elsewhere in Washington County, our Washington County mortgage page covers local prices and programs.
Model Your Zero-Down Payment
Physician Loan Calculator
See your no-PMI physician loan payment at any down payment from 0% to 20% — side by side with a conventional loan carrying mortgage insurance.
0–20% down slider
Watch the monthly payment and cash-to-close change at every down payment level, and see where the physician program hands off to conventional.
No-PMI savings
The exact monthly delta versus a conventional loan with estimated mortgage insurance at the same down payment.
Your exact tier
See which credit-score-and-loan-size tier your scenario lands in, plus the reserves required after closing.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can a pharmacist qualify for a physician loan?
Can my spouse's overtime help us qualify?
Can retirement accounts be used for mortgage reserves?
Can a seller credit pay my closing costs on a 100% loan?
Physician Mortgage Programs
Zero down, no PMI, and student loans treated fairly. Purpose-built for MDs, DOs, DDSs, and other medical professionals.
Bottom Line
This family went from renting to owning a home with room to grow on Bull Mountain. They put nothing down, pay no mortgage insurance, and kept their savings. If you're a pharmacist, nurse practitioner, dentist, physician or other medical professional thinking about buying, let's look at your numbers. Call 503-966-9255 or email info@lumenmortgage.com. Lumen Mortgage, NMLS #1498678.
