Doctor Loans in Alabama and Florida: What Actually Decides Your Approval (2026)
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Search "physician loan Alabama" or "doctor loan Florida" and you get the same page every time. A list of banks. A table of down payment tiers. Twelve best this, five best that.
Those lists are not wrong. They are just answering a question that almost never decides your approval.
The question that decides it is this one: what number does the underwriter put in for your student loan payment? Two physicians with the same salary, the same specialty, and the same $290,000 of school debt can get two different answers, and the difference is paperwork, not money.
What a doctor loan actually is
A physician loan is a portfolio product. The bank keeps it instead of selling it to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Because the bank keeps it, the bank writes its own rules, which is why every program you read about looks a little different.
The features that show up in most of them:
- Little or no down payment. Programs in this market commonly run 0% down up to a set loan amount, then step to 5% and 10% at higher amounts.
- No mortgage insurance. This is the headline feature and the reason most physicians look at the product at all.
- An employment contract can count as income. Most programs let you close before your first paycheck, usually inside a 60 to 90 day window before your start date.
- Student loans get their own treatment. This is the part that matters, and it is covered in the next section.
Eligibility is usually MD, DO, DDS, DMD, and DPM. Some programs add PA, NP, CRNA, DVM, pharmacists, and attorneys. Some cut you off at ten years past residency. There is no standard, so the eligible-degree list is worth confirming before you fall in love with a program.
Your student loan payment is the whole ballgame
Here is the mechanic that the directory pages leave out.
When an underwriter builds your debt-to-income ratio, they need a monthly number for your student loans. Where that number comes from depends entirely on what you can document.
If you have an active income-driven repayment plan and a servicer statement showing the payment, most physician programs will use that actual payment. Including a documented $0 payment. A resident with a verified $0 IDR payment can carry $290,000 of student debt and have it count as nothing against the ratio.
If your loans are in forbearance, or you cannot produce a statement, the file falls back to a calculated payment. Depending on the program, that is roughly 0.5% to 1% of the outstanding balance. On $290,000, that is somewhere between $1,450 and $2,900 a month of phantom debt.
Run that through a debt-to-income ratio and it is the difference between a $700,000 approval and no approval.
The fix is not complicated. Get onto an income-driven plan, let it certify, and pull the servicer statement that shows the payment amount before you apply. That is a week of work. It moves your approval further than any amount of rate shopping will.
One 2026 note. The student loan overhaul has been moving borrowers between repayment plans, and a plan change can leave you with a gap where nothing is documented. If you have been moved to a new plan this year, confirm your servicer is showing a current payment amount before a lender pulls your file.
When a doctor loan wins, and when it does not
No mortgage insurance is a real advantage. It is not a free one. Physician loans are portfolio products, and portfolio products usually carry a slightly higher rate than the equivalent conventional loan. Sometimes the higher rate costs you more over the years you hold the loan than the mortgage insurance would have.
So run it. Do not assume.
| Your situation | Usually the better fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Finishing residency, almost no cash, big student balance | Doctor loan | 0% down and contract income are hard to replicate anywhere else |
| Starting a new job in 60 to 90 days | Doctor loan | Most conventional lenders want pay stubs, not a contract |
| Buying above the conforming limit | Doctor loan | Portfolio jumbo tiers are built for this, and the down payment ask is smaller |
| 10% or more down, clean debt profile, established practice | Often conventional | Lower rate, and mortgage insurance drops off later instead of never starting |
| Planning to sell or refinance inside five years | Depends, run the math | Short holds favor the lower payment now, whichever product gets you there |
If you want to see the conventional side of that comparison in detail, start with the conventional loan requirements in Alabama and Florida, then look at 5% down versus 20% down to see what the down payment actually buys you in payment terms.
What is different in Alabama
Alabama physician deals are usually timing deals.
The typical file is a resident or a new hire moving to Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile, or Tuscaloosa with a signed contract and a start date. The contract does the work here. Most programs will let you close inside a 60 to 90 day window ahead of that start date, which means the house can be ready when you are instead of three months after.
Two things help you in Alabama. Property taxes are among the lowest in the country, so the escrow side of your payment is small. And the price points in most Alabama markets sit under the conforming limit, which keeps more of your options open, including conventional.
One thing to watch. Alabama is a caveat emptor state on residential resale. The seller is not obligated to volunteer what is wrong with the house, outside of a few narrow exceptions. Your inspection is the protection, and a rushed inspection on a relocation timeline is where these deals go sideways.
What is different in Florida
Florida physician deals are usually property deals.
Insurance is the biggest variable in a Florida payment right now, and no loan program touches it. A physician loan can get you in with nothing down and still leave you with a monthly payment you did not expect, because the homeowners premium and the wind coverage came in high. Get an insurance quote on the specific address before you are emotionally committed to it, not after the inspection.
Condos are the second one. Because physician loans are portfolio products, the condo rules are whatever that bank says they are, and they are frequently stricter than agency rules. Since Limited Review went away in August, condo financing across the board got tighter on reserves, deferred maintenance, and structural reporting. A physician program does not exempt a building from any of that.
Third, price. Plenty of Florida physician purchases land above the conforming limit, which for most counties in both states is $832,750 in 2026. Above that number you are in jumbo territory, and that is where the doctor loan tends to look best against the alternatives.
Before you get attached to a number, it is worth seeing what your monthly payment actually looks like at a few different price points with taxes and insurance included.
What to have ready before you apply
- Your signed employment contract, with the start date and the compensation structure spelled out
- A current servicer statement for every student loan, showing the plan and the monthly payment amount
- Two years of tax returns if you have been in practice, or your final year of training documentation if you have not
- Proof of any bonus, stipend, or relocation payment you are counting on
- An insurance quote on the actual property, especially in Florida
- The condo association questionnaire and reserve study if you are buying a condo
If cash to close is the pinch point rather than the down payment, lender credits in Alabama and Florida are worth a look alongside the program itself.
The honest summary
The doctor loan is a good product and it exists for a real reason. Physicians have an income curve that standard underwriting reads badly, and this fixes that.
But the program is not what gets you approved. Documented income and a documented student loan payment get you approved. Pick the program second.
If you are house hunting in Alabama or Florida and you want a straight answer on which side of the doctor loan versus conventional loans in Alabama and Florida line you fall on, talk to Mountain Mortgage. We will run both and show you the actual numbers.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to be a doctor to get a physician loan?
You need one of the eligible degrees, and the list varies by lender. MD, DO, DDS, DMD, and DPM are on almost every list. Many programs also include PA, NP, CRNA, DVM, pharmacists, and in some cases attorneys. Ask for the eligible-degree list in writing before you apply.
Can I get a doctor loan before I start my job?
Usually yes. Most programs will accept a signed employment contract as your income documentation and let you close inside 60 to 90 days of your start date. The contract has to be signed and non-contingent, and the terms have to match what you are being qualified on.
Do my student loans count against me if I am on an income-driven plan?
Most physician programs will use your actual documented income-driven payment, even when that payment is $0. The catch is documentation. You need an active plan and a servicer statement showing the amount. Without that, the underwriter uses a calculated payment based on your balance instead, and that number is much larger.
Is a doctor loan always better than a conventional loan?
No. If you have 10% or more to put down and a clean debt profile, a conventional loan often costs less over time, because the rate is usually lower and mortgage insurance comes off once you reach 20% equity. The doctor loan wins when cash is short, when you are closing on a contract instead of pay stubs, or when the price is above the conforming limit.
Can I use a physician loan to buy a condo in Florida?
Sometimes. Physician loans are portfolio products, so the bank sets its own condo rules and they are often stricter than agency rules. Since Limited Review was retired in August, condo approvals in Florida have gotten tighter across the board on reserves, deferred maintenance, and structural reporting. Get the building reviewed early, before the inspection period runs.
How much can I borrow with a doctor loan?
It depends on the program tier and your ratios, and programs in this market go well into jumbo territory. The practical answer is that your student loan documentation and your contract terms will move your maximum more than the program's published ceiling will.
Mountain Mortgage, NMLS #2720886. Paul Leara, NMLS #2233772. Equal Housing Lender. This article is general information and is not a commitment to lend or an offer of credit. Program terms, eligibility, and availability vary by lender and are subject to underwriting approval, credit qualification, and property review. Terms described here are current as of September 2026 and change frequently.