Houston physician home buyer guide.

Why physician home buying is different

Physicians often buy during moments that don't line up neatly with a conventional mortgage file: Match Day, fellowship start, first attending contract, deferred student debt, relocation from another state, or a hospital schedule that makes weekday touring difficult. The work is getting the lender, timeline, commute map, and offer strategy aligned before the right home appears.

Doctor loans and what they can solve

Down-payment requirements and other terms vary by lender, program, borrower, loan amount, and property. Ask licensed lenders for current written scenarios using the same assumptions, then compare the rate, APR, points, fees, mortgage-insurance structure, cash to close, reserves, total monthly cost, and what may change before closing.

• Ask whether deferred student loans are excluded, counted at a reduced payment, or fully counted in debt-to-income.
• Ask whether a signed employment contract or offer letter can be used before the attending start date.
• Compare the physician loan against conventional, jumbo, and any first-time-buyer options if you are early career. See our first-time buyer guide.

Match-day timing

Match Day compresses the search. A practical plan starts before the match: lender pre-screening, cash-to-close range, neighborhood short list, commute priorities, and a backup plan if inventory is thin. Once the match is known, we can move quickly on virtual tours, neighborhood video, and offer timing around your program start date. Our Houston relocation process is built for this kind of remote-first search.

Residency to attending transition

The residency-to-attending purchase is usually a tradeoff between buying early with a physician loan, renting until the attending role stabilizes, or buying a home that can survive a future job change. Buyers can compare address-level routes, property condition, taxes, available flood and insurance information, ownership costs, and resale considerations using criteria they establish before focusing on finishes.

Houston areas to compare by address and route

• Texas Medical Center adjacent. Compare current housing options, parking, property costs, available flood and insurance information, and routes to the exact entrance or garage you expect to use.
• Memorial / Memorial Park area. Compare current property types, municipal and district information, and address-level routes to your destinations. Read the Memorial guide.
• Tanglewood. Compare current lot and home options, deed restrictions, property records, and address-level routes to your destinations. Read the Tanglewood guide.
• Spring Branch. Compare current townhome, single-family, and infill options together with jurisdiction, district, property, and route information. Read the Spring Branch guide.

What to ask a lender that offers physician mortgage programs

• Which medical degrees qualify: MD, DO, DDS, PharmD, or others?
• What down-payment tiers apply at your target price point?
• How is deferred student debt handled in underwriting?
• Can future income from an employment contract be used?
• Is the program fixed, adjustable, jumbo, portfolio, or another structure?
• What property types are eligible: single-family, townhome, condo, or new construction?

CGP's physician-buyer process

Hien Le and Juichen Alice Liang lead physician buyers at CGP. We start with timeline, exact route destinations, lender questions, and the buyer's property criteria; then we run virtual or in-person tours, contract strategy, option period inspections, appraisal/lender coordination, and closing logistics. Multilingual support is available through the team in Vietnamese, Mandarin, Cantonese, and English.

For calculators and a physician-focused intake form, use Physician Buyers. This guide stays educational; the dedicated funnel handles the lender-specific next step.

For the standard transaction path, start with our Houston buyer process. For move timing, use the relocation hub.