Home Loans for Doctors

Are you a doctor looking for a home loan? Find out more about what possible options are waiting for you.

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, updated on August 7th, 2023       

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You may not have heard about a special category of home loans specifically for doctors. This allows medical professionals to purchase a home at lower immediate costs and with more ease than a regular borrower.

These special offers extend to doctors and some other medical professionals because of their high levels of income and job security. 

How do home loans for doctor’s work? What are you eligible for?

These loans offer medical professionals a range of discounts and special rates. These include:

  • The ability to borrow up to 100% of your chosen property’s value.
  • In many cases, doctors will not need to pay LMI when applying for a 100% home loan.
  • Lower interest rates.
  • Fee discounts.
  • 100% offset accounts.
  • Free redraw facility.

What can I save with no LMI when applying for a doctor’s home loan?

Not needing to pay LMI could save you a lot. On a regular home loan, LMI could add a significant amount of money on top of the deposit that is being paid. Take for example these LMI payments required for different levels of borrowing on a property worth $750,000:

Borrowing level (LVR) LMI % LMI payment required
85%
1.333
$9,997.50
90%
2.367
$17,752.50
95%
4.613
$34,597.50

*Different house prices will incur different LMI percentages

What will a doctor’s home loan save me overall?

Further discounts on interest rates and fees can save doctors large amounts of money over the long run.

Doctors could see a discount of as much as 0.25% on their home loan’s interest rate and even see their annual fees waived. This can lead to considerable savings as can be seen with this example for a property worth $750,000 at 95% LVR over a 30-year loan term:

Type of Home Loan Deposit LMI Fees Interest rate Monthly repayments Total repayments
Regular Home Loan
$37,500
$17,752.50
$400
2.5%
$3,034
$1,092,078
Home Loan for Doctors
$37,500
2.25%
$2,867
$1,032,065

Based on the above, a doctor’s home loan could save you $60,013 over a 30-year loan term.

Do I qualify for a doctor’s home loan?

To qualify with most lenders, you need to be working as one of these professions:

  • Anaesthesiologist/Anaesthetist
  • Cardiologist
  • Cardiothoracic Surgeon
  • Chiropractor
  • Cosmetic Surgeon
  • Dentist
  • Dermatologist
  • Doctor
  • Intern Doctor
  • General Practitioner
  • Epidemiologist
  • Endocrinologist
  • Gastroenterologist
  • Gynaecologist
  • Immunologist
  • Neurologist
  • Obstetrician
  • Oncologist
  • Ophthalmologist
  • Optometrist
  • Orthodontist
  • Paediatrician
  • Pathologist
  • Pharmacist
  • Plastic Surgeon
  • Psychiatrist
  • Psychologist
  • Radiologist
  • Rheumatologist
  • Surgeon
  • Urologist
  • Veterinarian

All of these professions come with different levels of income. This means that the type of discounts and products they can access may differ slightly.

What if I have an unusual income?

Many doctors are not typical 9-5 full time workers and sometimes are self employed, partners in businesses, contractors and some even receive Medicare income guarantees. So, applying for a home loan using recent payslips is either not doable, or not an accurate reflection of your income.

In order to prove your income and employment status, you may produce the following:

  • BAS statements
  • Tax returns
  • Past, present and future contracts (if you are a contractor)
  • 6 months of bank statements (trading or personal)
 

Any other documents proving their income and employment status

How to apply for home loan as a doctor

Finding the right home loan product for your situation

Finding a doctor’s home loan is not as simple as your standard home loan, there is a lot more research required and not all banks and lenders offer a solution.

Exploring where you can find the best possible deal could save you large amounts of money in the future. This could come through the waiving of LMI and annual fees, discounts on interest rates, offset accounts, redraw facilities, or all of these together.

Speak to as many banks and lenders as possible and consult our comparison table to find the right home loan product for you.

Pre-approval

Pre-approval or conditional approval is where a bank or lender assesses you on your ability to borrow and repay on a home loan.

To apply for pre-approval, you will need to gather your personal documents to apply for the loan. There are some similarities in the documents needed for a home loan application between regular borrowers and doctors, including:

  • Driver’s license
  • Passport
  • Proof of Australian citizenship or permanent residency
  • Recent payslips
  • Employment contract
  • Or other documentation proving your employment status as mentioned previously if you do not have access to these documents

The only difference between applying for pre-approval with a regular home loan and a home loan for doctors, is the need to provide proof of your registration to the Medical Board of Australia.

Look for further discounts

Although most lenders by default offer certain discounts to doctors, the amounts on offer vary greatly from lender to lender. Therefore, comparing your options just like you would with a standard home loan is essential.

Often banks and lenders will not advertise the extent of discounts available for a doctor’s home loan, so to have the best possible understanding of their product, ask them if there is anything else available.

Find your new home and settle

The most important step in the home loan process regardless of whether it is a regular or doctor’s home loan is finding the right home. It doesn’t matter whether this is your first home, your next home or even an investment property. It is still important to find the best home for your situation.

Once a house has been procured your application will then proceed to formal approval and settlement.

Common questions on home loans for medical professionals

What is Lender’s Mortgage Insurance (LMI)?

LMI is insurance for lenders that is paid upfront by borrowers to protect them if borrowers are not able to make their repayments. It usually applies when a home buyer borrows over 20% of the property’s value.

Why don’t I need to pay LMI when applying for a doctor’s home loan?

Medical professionals usually don’t need to pay LMI because they are considered low risk borrowers to lenders. This is because of their high income levels and job security. 

What is an offset account?

An offset account is a bank account that offsets the amount in the account against your home loan. For example, if you have a home loan for $750,000 with $100,000 in your offset account. Your monthly upcoming home loan repayment will calculate interest based on a home loan amount of $650,0000. Having an offset account allows you to pay off your home sooner and save on interest as monthly you will be paying off more principle and less interest. 

You can use this account like any other standard bank account, withdraw, deposit and have debit cards attached to it. 

What is a redraw facility?

A redraw facility offers borrowers the ability to take cash off their total home loan repayments as they please.

Do the Big Four banks offer these loans?

The big four banks (namely NAB, ANZ, Westpac and Commonwealth Bank) do offer doctor’s home loans. Some understandably rather borrowing from one of the big four banks, but it is important to look at the entire lender market as there may be better deals available with smaller lenders. 

Should I use a mortgage broker to apply for a doctor’s home loan?

A mortgage broker could be highly beneficial in helping you secure this type of loan. This is because they are usually of great assistance in more complicated situations such as this one. A mortgage broker would also help someone who is time poor as many doctors are.

If I want to enter this type of loan with my spouse, do we both need to be doctors?

No. Only one person entering the loan needs to be a doctor. However, if a couple were both doctors, it would certainly be favourable to them and increase the borrowing power much further.

Do nurses qualify?

Unfortunately, nurses cannot receive a doctor’s home loan and will need to apply for a regular home loan. Discounts can still be received on regular home loans, but likely not to the extent of a doctor’s home loan. 

If I’m not a doctor can I still access this type of loan?

If you aren’t a doctor you won’t be eligible for this specific category of home loan. But there are home loans out there that apply for those in other professions with similar low risk borrowing levels. These are known as professional package loans and depend on your income levels and job security.

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