A straight answer
Do physician loans have PMI? How doctor loans work
The direct answer
No, the physician programs I offer do not require PMI. Through West Capital Lending, I arrange options with little or no down payment for eligible borrowers, while reviewing your profession, employment, student loans and property. I'm Zach von der Linden (NMLS 1652805), a mortgage broker with West Capital Lending, based in San Clemente.
No PMI does not mean a cost-free loan. The loan still has closing costs and its own pricing, and eligibility turns on your degree, your employment or contract, the property and how the program counts your student loans. I put the financing together with a lender; the lender and the program set the rules. I work with buyers in California, Utah, Oregon and Arizona.
Zach von der Linden, mortgage broker and Branch Manager, West Capital Lending · NMLS 1652805
Wholesale pricing · California, Utah, Oregon and Arizona
5.0 across 66 reviews on Experience.com (read on 2026-09-24) · Text reaches Zach directly · Last updated 2026-10-19
Tell me your profession or income situation, the property state, and whether you're buying or refinancing. I'll explain which program requirements we need to review.
No credit pull happens from a text or a call. Texts and calls go to Zach's cell.
What happens after you text me?
Texts go straight to my cell, and I answer them myself when I'm free. I'll ask for the few details that actually matter, tell you whether the structure looks worth pursuing, and explain the next step. If I don't think the loan fits, I'll tell you that too.
A text or phone conversation does not pull your credit.
What makes a physician loan different?
Three things set it apart from a standard conventional loan. There is no private mortgage insurance. The down payment can be little or nothing for an eligible borrower. And the program has its own written rules for a doctor's file: the degree, the employment or contract, and the student loans. The CFPB describes PMI as insurance "you might be required to buy if you take out a conventional loan" with a smaller down payment, and it "protects the lender," not you (CFPB, what is private mortgage insurance).
Skipping PMI is not free. The CFPB notes that when a conventional loan with a smaller down payment does not require PMI, the tradeoff usually shows up in the loan's pricing instead, and that this "can be more or less expensive than the PMI, depending on a number of factors, including how long you plan to stay in the home" (CFPB, what is private mortgage insurance). So I look at the whole structure with you: the cash you bring, the reserves the program wants left over, the costs, and the payment.
Physician loan or conventional mortgage: what changes?
The structure, mostly. A conventional loan with a smaller down payment usually carries PMI; the physician programs I offer do not. A conventional loan sold to Fannie Mae counts student loans under Fannie Mae's rules; a physician program applies its own. A conventional loan generally qualifies you on income you already earn; a physician file may be built around a contract for a position you have not started yet.
What does not change: the lender still verifies your income, your debts, your credit and the property, and you still need the cash to close and whatever reserves the program requires. If you are making a larger down payment and your student loans are not the issue, a conventional loan can be the better fit, and I will say so.
How are deferred student loans counted?
It depends on the program, and a deferment does not make the loans disappear. For loans sold to Fannie Mae, when the credit report shows no payment, the lender must set one: a documented income-driven payment can be used as reported, and "For deferred loans or loans in forbearance, the lender may calculate" a payment from a share of the balance or "a fully amortizing payment using the documented loan repayment terms" (Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-6-05).
A physician program applies its own written student loan rule, and I read it for your file before we count on a number. My student loan payment is zero. Why is the lender counting a payment? explains the agency rules in full.
What do I need to qualify?
The physician program I offer takes residents and fellows. Can I get a mortgage during residency? covers buying during training.
Your degree and license status, your employment or the signed contract for the position you are starting, your current income if any, your student loan statements and repayment plan, and statements for the accounts that will cover closing and reserves. The property matters too: the program sets which homes and occupancy it accepts.
Starting a new position before closing? Can I get a mortgage with a job offer letter before I start? covers closing on an offer or contract. Do not text documents or account numbers; I will tell you what to send and how.
Want a standard pre-approval while we review the program? Start my soft-pull pre-approval. It uses a soft credit check and is subject to review and verification; it is not an approval of a physician loan.
Dentists, veterinarians and pharmacists
Dentists, veterinarians and pharmacists can qualify as eligible borrowers under the same physician program I offer. Eligibility still depends on the borrower: your degree and license, your employment or contract, your credit, the property and how your student loans are counted.
Do dentists qualify? Yes. Dentists can qualify as eligible borrowers under the same physician program I offer. Eligibility still depends on you: your DDS or DMD and license, whether you are employed, buying into a practice or finishing training, your credit, the property and how your student loans are counted.
Do veterinarians qualify? Yes. Veterinarians can qualify as eligible borrowers under the same physician program I offer. Eligibility still depends on you: your degree and license, how you are paid now (a salaried position, an offer or ownership in a practice), your credit, the property and how your student loans are counted.
Are pharmacists included? Yes. Pharmacists can qualify as eligible borrowers under the same physician program I offer. Eligibility still depends on you: your degree and license, your employment or contract, your credit, the property and how your student loans are counted.
Nurses, attorneys and CPAs have their own professional programs; the professional mortgage programs page lists them.
Questions people ask next
Is a physician loan worth it?
It can be when cash for a down payment is short, when your student loans make a conventional file hard to qualify, or when you are buying on a contract for a new position. It is less likely to be the right structure if you are making a larger down payment and your student loans are not the issue. I look at the cash you bring, the costs and the payment, and I tell you which structure fits.
Can I refinance with a physician loan?
Tell me the loan you have now and what you want the refinance to do. Whether a physician program allows the refinance you want is a program term I confirm for your file before you count on it, and if it does not fit, I review a standard refinance instead.
Does no PMI mean there are no closing costs?
No. Skipping PMI removes one cost, not the others. The loan still has closing costs, and the Loan Estimate you receive shows them; the CFPB says the form gives you "important information, including" the "total closing costs for the loan" (CFPB, what is a Loan Estimate). Read it line by line, and I will walk through it with you.
What clients say
Zach was so easy to work with. He made a stressful situation into a very positive experience for us and did push us one way or another. He listened to what we hoped we could accomplish and made it happen.
Word for word from Experience.com. Read all reviews.
Sources and checked dates
Sources: Confirmed by Zach, October 2026 (checked 2026-10-18) · CFPB, What is private mortgage insurance? (checked 2026-10-18) · CFPB, What is a Loan Estimate? (checked 2026-10-18) · Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-6-05, Monthly Debt Obligations (checked 2026-10-18) · Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-3.3-03, Employment Offers or Contracts (checked 2026-10-18).
Show each claim on this page, what it depends on, and the date it was checked (7)
| What we say, and what it depends on | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| I offer true physician loans with no PMI and little or nothing down for eligible borrowers. | Confirmed by Zach, October 2026 | 2026-10-18 |
| Dentists, veterinarians and pharmacists can qualify as eligible borrowers under the same physician program I offer. | Confirmed by Zach, October 2026 | 2026-10-18 |
| The physician program I offer takes residents and fellows. | Confirmed by Zach, October 2026 | 2026-10-19 |
| CFPB, What is private mortgage insurance? (last reviewed August 28, 2023): PMI is "a type of mortgage insurance you might be required to buy if you take out a conventional loan" with a smaller down payment, and it "protects the lender" if you stop making payments. "Lenders sometimes offer conventional loans with smaller down payments that do not require PMI. As a tradeoff, you usually pay a higher interest rate for these loans. Paying a higher interest rate can be more or less expensive than the PMI, depending on a number of factors, including how long you plan to stay in the home." | CFPB, What is private mortgage insurance? | 2026-10-18 |
| CFPB, What is a Loan Estimate? (last reviewed August 9, 2024): the form "provides you with important information, including the estimated interest rate, monthly payment, and total closing costs for the loan." | CFPB, What is a Loan Estimate? | 2026-10-18 |
| Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-6-05, Monthly Debt Obligations (08/05/2026), Student Loans: when the credit report shows no monthly payment, the lender must determine a qualifying payment. A borrower on an income-driven plan may be qualified with a documented zero payment, and "For deferred loans or loans in forbearance, the lender may calculate" a payment equal to a set share of the outstanding balance or "a fully amortizing payment using the documented loan repayment terms." | Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-6-05, Monthly Debt Obligations | 2026-10-18 |
| Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.3-03, Employment Offers or Contracts (10/07/2026): a lender may deliver a loan for a borrower "scheduled to begin new employment under the terms of an employment offer or contract" in one of two ways: with the most recent paystub saved in the file before the loan is delivered, or without one. The option without a paystub "is limited to loans that meet the following criteria: purchase transaction, principal residence, one-unit property, the borrower must not be employed by a family member or by an interested party to the transaction, and the borrower is qualified using only fixed-base income," with a start date inside a window the topic sets around the note date. "The lender must use the monthly income amount in the offer letter as qualifying income." | Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-3.3-03, Employment Offers or Contracts | 2026-10-18 |
Written for and accountable to: Zach von der Linden, Mortgage broker and Branch Manager, West Capital Lending.
Last updated 2026-10-19.
Verify him: NMLS Consumer Access, ID 1652805 · 66 reviews on Experience.com.
Sources for product claims are listed on this page, with the date each was checked.