A decade of training, and the market didn't wait.
San Diego's median home sold for about $954,000 over the three months ending May 2026, per Redfin — and homes here typically go pending in around 23 days. Meanwhile, the standard mortgage playbook asks for a down payment that most residents and fellows simply haven't had time to build. Training pay is modest, student debt is real, and the attending income that changes everything hasn't started yet.
That's the exact gap physician loan programs were built to close. San Diego is one of the country's dense medical job markets — UCSD Health and its Hillcrest and La Jolla campuses, the Scripps Health system, Sharp HealthCare, Rady Children's Hospital, plus a deep bench of private practices and biotech-adjacent clinical roles. Every June, a new class finishes residency or fellowship here with signed attending contracts and no realistic way to write a six-figure down payment check.
This page covers how the program works, who qualifies, and where it fits in San Diego's price ladder. For the county-wide picture — loan limits, neighborhoods, Mello-Roos — start with our San Diego mortgage guide.
Why lenders offer doctors 100% financing.
This isn't charity, and it isn't a gimmick. Lenders compete for physician borrowers because the risk math works in your favor: a medical license anchors a steep, durable earning trajectory, employment demand for clinicians stays strong through economic cycles, and physicians have historically been among the least likely borrowers to default. When the long-run picture is that reliable, a lender can lend against the career instead of the savings account.
Compare that with the standard path. On a conventional loan, avoiding PMI typically takes 20% down — on a median-priced San Diego home around $954,000, that's roughly $190,000, purely as an illustration. A physician program removes both halves of that problem at once: up to 100% financing, and no mortgage insurance on top of it. The years you'd otherwise spend saving a down payment become years of owning instead of renting.
No down payment ≠ no underwriting
Physician loans are fully underwritten — income, credit, debts, and the property all get reviewed, and programs are subject to underwriting approval. What the program removes is the down-payment and mortgage-insurance barrier, not the diligence. No rates or payments are promised on this page; pricing depends on your file and on which lenders compete for it.
Eligibility, in plain terms.
"Physician loan" is too narrow a name. The medical professional program in our network covers eight designations:
The program parameters, all in one place:
| Parameter | Program terms |
|---|---|
| Eligible designations | MD, DO, DDS, DMD, DPM, DVM, PharmD, CRNA |
| Loan amount | Up to $2,000,000 |
| Financing | Up to 100% LTV — no mortgage insurance |
| Minimum credit score | 680 |
| Future income | Signed contract with a start date within 150 days |
| Occupancy | Primary residence, 1-unit only |
| Purpose | Purchase or rate/term refinance |
Source: wholesale medical professional program sheet, July 2026. Programs subject to underwriting approval. Reserve requirements vary by file.
One boundary worth naming: this is a primary-residence program. A rental condo in Mission Valley or a short-term rental near the coast would go through an investor program instead — and a physician in private practice whose income arrives on 1099s or K-1s may pair or compare this with self-employed qualifying paths.
Buy before your first paycheck.
The most powerful clause in the program is future income qualifying: the lender can underwrite you on the income in a signed employment contract, as long as your start date is within 150 days of closing. Not your resident salary. Not a pay stub you don't have yet. The contract itself.
That maps almost perfectly onto the academic medicine calendar. Training years end in June, attending contracts commonly start in midsummer, and offers are often signed months earlier. A fellow at UCSD or Scripps who signs in February for a summer start has a window of several months to shop, go under contract, and close — timed so the new job begins within the 150-day mark. In a market where homes go pending in roughly 23 days, having financing arranged before you tour is what makes an offer credible.
Sequence it like a discharge plan
Signed contract in hand → get matched and priced → preapproval before you shop → close with your start date inside 150 days. Get the order right and the transition from resident to attending and from renter to owner can happen in the same season.
Where $2M lands on the county price ladder.
San Diego County's 2026 conforming loan limit is $1,104,000 for a one-unit home. Standard low-down-payment programs get harder to structure above that line — which is exactly where a lot of physician house-hunting happens, from Carmel Valley and University City near the La Jolla medical corridor to Scripps Ranch and Point Loma.
The physician program's ceiling of $2 million covers the county's median — around $954,000 — with room to spare, and keeps 100%-financing structures in play well above the conforming line. Shopping beyond $2 million, or outside the program's boundaries? That's San Diego jumbo territory, where our network prices bank and non-agency programs against each other the same way.
And because physician programs are lender-specific — each wholesale lender decides whether to offer one and on what terms — the difference between a good deal and a mediocre one is which lenders you let look at your file. A single bank shows you its one doctor product, if it has one. VegaFi's job is to make the whole network show its hand, then let the CounterOffer engine push lenders to beat whatever offer you're holding. If you're watching the market while you wait on a contract, check today's mortgage rate for context — but your program terms will come from competition, not a headline number.
- 01 Tell us your scenario. Designation, contract start date, price range. About sixty seconds — no documents, no credit pull.
- 02 SmartMatch runs the network. Your file is priced across 50+ wholesale lenders, surfacing which ones offer medical professional terms on your scenario.
- 03 Already have a quote? Make lenders beat it. Upload your Loan Estimate to the CounterOffer engine. We redact your identity and lenders bid against your existing offer.
- 04 Close with a licensed loan officer. A real human runs your file to closing — accountable, reachable, and licensed in California.
Physician loan questions, answered.
Can residents buy a house in San Diego before starting their attending job?
Yes, through future income qualifying. Physician loan programs can qualify you on the income from a signed employment contract as long as your start date is within 150 days of closing. That means a resident or fellow finishing training with a signed attending offer from UCSD Health, Scripps, Sharp, or Rady Children's can close on a home before the first paycheck arrives. Programs are subject to underwriting approval.
Do physician loans require PMI?
No. The medical professional program in our network allows up to 100% financing with no mortgage insurance. On a standard conventional loan, borrowers typically need 20% down to avoid PMI. Physician programs waive both the down payment and the mortgage insurance because lenders treat medical professionals as strong long-term borrowers.
How much can doctors borrow with no down payment?
The medical professional program in our network goes up to $2 million in loan amount, with financing up to 100% of the purchase price. Whether a specific file reaches the maximum depends on income, credit, and the property — every program is subject to underwriting approval.
What credit score do you need for a physician home loan?
The program requires a minimum credit score of 680. That is the floor for eligibility — a stronger score generally helps pricing, which is one more reason to have multiple lenders compete on the same file instead of accepting the first quote.
Do dentists, veterinarians, and pharmacists qualify for physician loans?
Yes. Eligible designations under the medical professional program are MD, DO, DDS, DMD, DPM, DVM, PharmD, and CRNA. If you hold one of these designations and the home will be your primary residence, you can be considered for the program.
Can I use a physician loan for a rental property or a cash-out refinance?
No. The program is limited to a one-unit primary residence, for a purchase or a rate/term refinance. Investment properties go through other programs, such as DSCR loans, and cash-out needs are handled outside this program. VegaFi prices all of those paths across its lender network as well.