You've Dedicated Your Career to Others. Now Let's Secure Your Home.
Physician loans — also called doctor loans or doctor mortgages — are built for the financial realities of healthcare careers: high student loan debt, delayed income starts, and an offer letter in hand instead of years of pay stubs. Serving physicians and healthcare professionals in Oregon and California.
5%
Minimum Down Payment
Offer Letter OK
Income Accepted
IBR / Deferred Friendly
Student Loans
Up to $2M
Max Loan Amount
Overview
Financing Built Around the Realities of a Medical Career
On behalf of everyone at Lumen Mortgage, thank you. Physicians, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, veterinarians, and the broader healthcare community have dedicated their careers — and often their financial lives — to caring for others. Medical school and residency don't come free, and the income timeline of a healthcare career rarely looks like a conventional borrower profile. Physician loans — widely known as doctor loans or doctor mortgages — exist to correct for that.
Standard mortgage underwriting was designed around borrowers who've been earning steady W-2 income for two or more years. If you're completing residency, starting a first attending position, or transitioning between practices, you may not fit that mold even though you have exceptional earning potential and outstanding creditworthiness. Doctor loan programs — the same product marketed under names like physician loan, physician mortgage, or doctor mortgage depending on the lender — recognize this and underwrite accordingly: using your employment contract or job offer letter as income documentation, treating student loan debt more favorably, and allowing lower down payments without requiring private mortgage insurance.
Oregon and California are home to some of the country's most prominent health systems, medical schools, and teaching hospitals — and the housing markets surrounding them are among the most expensive. In Portland, doctors joining OHSU, Providence Health, Legacy Health, or PeaceHealth are purchasing in a market where median prices push well above standard conforming loan limits. In California, residents and attendings at UCSF, UCLA Health, Stanford Medicine, Cedars-Sinai, UC Davis, or the Kaiser Permanente system face purchase prices in the $900,000–$2M+ range in markets like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Palo Alto, and Sacramento. Doctor loan programs bridge that gap — offering higher loan limits than conventional products, without the reserve requirements and down payment thresholds that jumbo underwriting demands. We work with physicians and doctors throughout both states and understand the career paths, compensation structures, and relocation timelines that shape your specific situation.
Who This Is For
Physician & Doctor Loans — Serving Oregon and California Healthcare Professionals
From residents matching into OHSU or UC programs to attending physicians and doctors joining major health systems in Portland, the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Sacramento — we understand the career timelines, relocation realities, and compensation structures that define your borrower profile. Whether you're searching for a doctor loan, a physician mortgage, or just need someone who understands how your income works, we're here to make the mortgage piece straightforward — so you can focus on what you do best.
Key Features
What Makes This Program Work
5% Minimum Down Payment
Purchase with as little as 5% down — and in many cases without the private mortgage insurance that would normally apply at that down payment level. Keep more of your savings for the life you've worked so hard to build.
Qualify on Future Income
If you have a signed employment contract or job offer letter, you may qualify based on your expected income — even if your start date is up to 90 days away and you haven't received your first paycheck yet. We document it correctly from day one.
Student Loan Flexibility
Conventional underwriting often counts your full student loan payment against your debt-to-income ratio even when loans are in deferment or on an income-based repayment plan. Physician programs handle this more favorably, which can make a meaningful difference in how much home you qualify for.
High Loan Limits
Physician and doctor loans frequently accommodate loan amounts well above conventional conforming limits — in many cases up to $1.5–$2 million — without requiring the stricter reserves and down payment thresholds that jumbo programs typically demand.
Timeline Matters — Talk to Us Early
The timeline of a physician loan is one of its most nuanced aspects. When your offer letter is dated, when your start date is, and when your closing is scheduled all interact with program rules. We'll map out your specific timeline with you so there are no surprises.
Experienced Guidance for Complex Profiles
Healthcare borrowers often have unusual financial profiles — deferred income, high debt balances, signing bonuses, moonlighting income, or RVU-based compensation structures. We've navigated all of these. You'll work directly with a loan officer who understands your career trajectory, not just your tax returns.
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A Lender Partner Who Understands the Physician Relocation Timeline
When you're recruiting a physician to a new position, housing is one of the most common friction points in the offer acceptance process. A lender who understands physician loan programs, future-income qualification, and the specific timing rules around offer letters and start dates can be the difference between a smooth relocation and a stressful one.
What Your Physicians Actually Need
And why standard lenders often get it wrong
Most mortgage lenders are built around conventional borrowers — two years of W-2 income, no student debt, an established employment history. Physicians look nothing like that profile, and the result is unnecessary friction, delayed closings, and sometimes a declined application at the exact moment your new hire is trying to plant roots.
Physician loan programs exist to correct for this — but they come with specific timing rules, documentation requirements, and lender-by-lender variations that the physician and their family are rarely equipped to navigate alone. A specialized lender partner removes that burden entirely.
Physician Recruiters & HR Teams
Let's make housing the easy part
Reach out before your physician's offer is accepted. We'll give you a clear picture of their financing options in your target market, identify the right program for their timeline, and be ready to move the moment they say yes. No cost, no obligation, and no hard credit pull required for a scenario review.
503-966-9255 · info@lumenmortgage.com · NMLS #1498678
Real-World Scenario
Relocating from Los Angeles to Crescent City — Qualifying on Future Income at Sutter Coast Hospital
How a physician loan bridges the gap between an accepted offer and a closed home purchase in Del Norte County, CA
The Situation
A physician currently living and practicing in Los Angeles has accepted a position at Sutter Coast Hospital in Crescent City, California — a rural, high-need community in Del Norte County near the Oregon border. They own a home in LA, have a start date 60 days out, and need to purchase a home in Crescent City before or shortly after they begin work.
On paper, this physician looks like a difficult borrower: their LA home isn't sold yet, they have significant student loan debt, and their W-2 history reflects their prior position — not the new attending salary at Sutter. A standard lender would likely decline or delay the file. A physician loan program, structured correctly, makes this transaction entirely workable.
How We Navigate It — Step by Step
Income Qualification — Using the Sutter Offer Letter
The physician's new attending salary is documented in their signed employment agreement with Sutter Coast Hospital. Physician loan programs allow us to qualify using this future income — provided the start date falls within the program's window (typically 60–90 days from closing). We review the offer letter structure early to confirm it meets lender requirements: start date, base salary, compensation structure (RVU vs. salary vs. productivity bonus), and signing bonus language. We document this correctly from the first conversation — not the week before closing.
Student Loan Treatment — Removing the DTI Obstacle
Under conventional underwriting, student loans in deferment are often counted at 1% of the outstanding balance per month — which on a $300,000–$400,000 medical school debt load produces a $3,000–$4,000/month phantom payment that most buyers can't absorb in their DTI. Physician loan programs calculate this differently: deferred loans and income-based repayment plans are factored at the actual IBR payment (sometimes $0), or at a reduced percentage. We run this calculation explicitly and show the physician exactly how their student debt affects their qualifying loan amount before they make any decisions.
Del Norte County Loan Limits — What to Expect
Del Norte County is not a designated high-cost county, so conforming loan limits are at the standard $832,750. Home prices in Crescent City are modest compared to LA — median single-family prices typically run $300,000–$500,000 — which means the loan amount is likely well within both conforming and physician program limits. This works in the physician's favor: a 5–10% down payment at this price point is far more manageable than what the LA market would require, and no jumbo program is needed.
The LA Home — Managing the Departure Residence
If the LA home is under contract or sold before closing on the Crescent City purchase, that's straightforward. If it's not yet sold, we evaluate whether the existing LA mortgage payment creates a DTI problem — and whether the physician loan program we're using requires a specific equity position or imposes a reserve requirement based on carrying two properties simultaneously. In many cases, a departing residence policy allows us to exclude or reduce the LA payment from DTI if the home is actively listed and there's a documented equity buffer. We work through this explicitly, early, so there are no surprises.
Timing — Closing Around the Start Date
Physician programs are time-sensitive. Most require that the start date be within 60–90 days of the closing date. If the physician wants to close before they begin working, we map the exact calendar: offer letter date, start date, projected closing date, and the program's allowed window. If the timeline is tight, we prioritize processing speed. If there's a mismatch, we identify it early and discuss options — including whether a short-term bridge or rental period while closing is finalized makes more sense. We do not discover timeline problems at the underwriting stage.
The Bottom Line for Recruiters
This transaction is entirely doable — but only if the lender understands physician loan programs and engages early. The pitfalls (income documentation timing, student loan DTI inflation, departing residence treatment, start-date window compliance) are all navigable when identified upfront. They become problems only when a standard lender encounters them cold at underwriting, with a closing date already on the calendar. Introduce us early, and we'll make the housing piece of your relocation package work as hard as the rest of your offer.
Requirements
General Qualifications
Ready to See If You Qualify?
Every borrower's situation is unique. Give us 15 minutes and we'll review your financial picture, identify every program you qualify for, and walk you through your options — at no cost and with no obligation.
Licensed in Oregon & California · NMLS #1498678
Related Programs
Jumbo Loans
If your physician loan amount exceeds standard program limits, jumbo financing may be the right fit — or a complement to review side by side.
High-Balance Loans
For purchases in high-cost Oregon and California counties, high-balance conventional financing may offer competitive rates up to $1,209,750.
First-Time Buyer Programs
If you're a first-time homebuyer, combining physician loan eligibility with first-time buyer programs may unlock additional benefits.
Portfolio Lending
Complex income structures — RVU compensation, moonlighting, or partnership distributions — may be a strong fit for our in-house portfolio program.
FAQ
Common Questions
From the Blog
Further Reading
Physician LoansPhysician Loans in Oregon: A Smarter Path to Homeownership for Medical Graduates
You've invested a decade in your education. A physician loan lets you invest in a home — with no PMI, flexible student debt treatment, and terms designed around your career trajectory, not your tax returns.
Physician LoansPhysician Loan Case Study: How We Closed 33 Days Before Our Borrower's First Day of Work
A physician relocating to Eugene, Oregon for a new position at Oregon Medical Group needed to close on a home before their April 22 start date — and before they'd earned a single paycheck. Here's how we qualified them on future employment income, coordinated with their recruiter and realtor, and closed on March 20, 2026.
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Our loan officers will review your scenario, walk you through your options, and guide you from application to close — with full transparency at every step.