Home Loans for Doctors and

Dentists 
Special home loans for doctors can save you thousands by allowing you to borrow up to 100
per cent of the property value without any Lenders Mortgage Insurance.

CTA: Compare home loan rates for doctors online or seek help from a verified mortgage
broker to know what’s available and matches your requirement.

Specialist Home Loans for Doctors

There’s an outpour of praise and recognition for doctors and dentists across the country and
rightly so. These selfless professionals have been working hard to save thousands of lives
during the pandemic and beyond. Besides their dedication and service to humanity, doctors
are also recognised by lenders as low-risk borrowers, which makes them eligible for higher
borrowing (up to 100 per cent of the property price by some lenders) without the
requirement of any Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI). Several lenders also offer discounts
and special interest rates to doctors and medical professionals, leading to further savings on
their home loans.

If you are a doctor, dentist, vet or any other medical professional that wishes to climb the
property ladder, a medical doctor mortgage is worth checking out for the additional savings
it can bring you.

 
Dr Susan’s Home Loan – A Case Study

Dr Susan is a paediatrician based in Sydney and earns $100,000 per annum. She wants to
buy an apartment worth $900,000 but has only about $70,000 saved for a deposit. Susan
decides to carry out some market research to find out her options and discovers, to her
dismay, that she may be required to dole out several thousands for Lenders Mortgage
Insurance to be approved for a low-deposit home loan. Alternatively, she may have to
request her parents to go guarantor.

While discussing her problem with a colleague, Susan discovers a lender that offers home
loans for doctors. On contacting the lender, she finds out that she can borrow over 90 per
cent of the property value without paying any LMI. The lender also offers a lower interest
rate to doctors as compared to the other options she had checked. After crunching the
numbers using an LMI calculator, Susan is set to save about $30,000 in LMI costs if she
borrows $830,000 (more than 90 per cent of the property price) for a term of 30 years.
 
Besides, Susan also gets a 100% offset account linked to her home loan. This will help her
reduce the interest she pays each month as the balance in the offset account will be
deducted from the pending loan amount to calculate the interest payable. So, if Susan has
$20,000 in her offset account and a pending loan amount of $800,000, interest would be
calculated on $780,000 ($800,000 minus $20,000) only. 

Top benefits of doctor home loans include:

● Borrow up to 100 per cent of the property value without paying Lenders Mortgage
Insurance
● Access special interest rates for low-risk borrowers like you
● Specific lenders may offer additional discounts and fee waivers
● Climb the property ladder earlier without waiting to save a 20 per cent deposit or
getting a guarantor

How Much Can LMI Waiver Save You?

Lenders Mortgage Insurance or LMI is a premium that is paid to protect the lender against
any losses if you (the borrower) default on your home loan in the future. It is usually
payable on loans amounting to more than 80 per cent of the property value. However,
doctors can borrow up to 90 per cent of the property price (and even 100 per cent in some
cases) without any LMI payment, saving thousands of up-front costs. 

To help you understand how much you can save with an LMI waiver on a doctor home loan,
we have created this projection using Genworth’s LMI Premium Estimator for a first home
buyer with a home loan term of 30 years.

Property Value Loan Amount Loan-to-Value Deposit LMI Premium

Ratio Amount (excluding
stamp duty)
600,000 540,000 90% 60,000 $ 13,284.00
600,000 570,000 95% 30,000 $ 23,954.25
800,000 720,000 90% 80,000 $ 17,712.00
800,000 760,000 95% 40,000 $ 31,939.00
1,000,000 900,000 90% 100,000 $ 22,140.00
1,000,000 950,000 95% 50,000 $ 39,923.75
 
Who is Eligible for Special Home Loans for Doctors?

Doctors, allied medical professionals, dentists and vets are eligible for home loans for
medical professionals. However, intern doctors, pharmacists, naturopaths, optometrists and
veterinarians may not be acceptable by all lenders for specialist home loans. Therefore, it
helps to check your eligibility with individual lenders or seek help from a mortgage broker.

To qualify for doctor home loans, you must fulfil the following two criteria:

● Your occupation (or specialisation) must be on the lender’s list of acceptable

professions
● You must be a member of one of the recognised industry associations such as the
Australian Association of Practice Managers, Australian Dental Association (ADA),
Medical Practitioners Board of Australia, etc.

CTA: To check your eligibility and discover the options available to you, you can compare
doctor home loans online. Alternatively, you may contact individual lenders or speak with a
mortgage broker for expert assistance.

How to Compare home loans for doctors?

When you are shopping for home loans, consider the following features to narrow down the
most suitable deals for your requirement.

● Interest rates – Interest rate is a vital consideration for any home loan. You must
compare the interest rates offered by different lenders and check if you are eligible
for any discounts. 
● Fees – Make sure you understand all the fees and other charges (including stamp
duty charges) associated with a home loan to understand what it would cost you.
● Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) – LMI waiver is one of the most attractive
features of doctor home loans as it allows you to borrow up to 100 per cent of the
property value (or more with some lenders) without paying any additional charges
for LMI premium.
● High Loan-to-Value Ratio (LVR) – LVR refers to the size of your home loan vis-à-vis
the value of the property you are going to purchase with it. Lenders mostly allow
home loans with 80 per cent LVR or lesser. For borrowing more than 80 per cent of
the property’s value, one needs to pay LMI or get a guarantor to guarantee the
home loan. However, doctors are considered low-risk professionals by lenders, and
that’s why they can borrow high LVR loans amounting to 90 per cent (or even 100
per cent in some cases) of the property price without any LMI or guarantee
requirement.
● Other features – Besides the interest rate and fees, you must also consider other
features that you require in your home loan to suit your financial condition. These
could include benefits like a redraw facility and a linked offset account.
When you are comparing home loans, remember to compare ‘apples with apples’, which is
why you must look at the comparison rate to identify the true cost of a loan. The
comparison rate sums up the total cost of a loan to a single percentage rate by including the
interest rate, and all fees and other charges. Therefore, by reviewing the comparison rate,
you get a better idea of what you are going to pay over the life of the loan.

You can also use a free home loan calculator to work out your monthly repayments and find
a loan offer that matches your financial condition and requirements. < pl add link>

How to Apply for A Doctor Home Loan?

Applying for home loans for doctors is much like applying for a regular mortgage with the
requirement of documentation like income and expense details, identification and
employment proofs, etc. 

Personal identification documents

● These include primary photo identification proofs like your current passport, driver’s
license, boat license, etc. 
● If you can’t provide any of these primary documents, lenders will usually require a
minimum of two secondary identification documents like your birth certificate,
health care card and citizenship certification.
● You would also need a copy of your employment contract or payslips to prove your
vocation as a doctor.

Income details

Information about your income will help the lender understand your financial situation and
assess your home loan application accordingly. 

● Most lenders ask for two or three of your most recent payslips and a payment
summary from your employer. 
● If you are self-employed, you would be required to provide your ABN (Australian
Business Number) and ATO (Australian Tax Assessments) for the past two years.
● In case you have a rental income, you would also be required to provide a signed
lease and a recent rental statement.

Additional Documentation

Besides identity and income proofs, lenders require some additional documentation like:

● A copy of your registration with the Medical Board of Australia or other equivalents
● professional bodies
● Information about your existing loans and liabilities
● Bank account details with at least 5 per cent of the deposit amount in genuine
savings
It is also vital to maintain a good credit score to get your loan application over the line.
Lenders do consider doctors as low-risk borrowers, but if you have defaulted on any other
loans or have missed paying your utility bills in the past, lenders will not feel secure lending
to you even if you are a doctor or an allied medical professional. It makes sense to order a
free copy of your credit report from sites like Equifax.com.au once every year and scrutinise
it for any errors that may be bringing your credit score down.

Can Doctors Get a Specialist Home Loan from The Big Four Banks?

In Australia, ANZ, CommBank, NAB and Westpac are considered the big four banks. These
four banks dominate the banking and finance landscape, holding the majority of home loans
in the country. Owing to their popularity, size and vintage, many consumers choose to bank
with the big four that offer a variety of deposit products and specialist home loans to
customers.

Like most other lenders, the big four also consider doctors as low-risk borrowers and offer
medico home loans to doctors and allied medical personnel for both owner-occupied and
investment properties. If you meet all the eligibility criteria laid down, there’s no reason
why you cannot get a home loan from one of the big four banks. However, whether you
should take out a medical home loan from one of the big four is entirely your choice.

Remember, all home loans are not created equal. That’s why it is essential to compare the
offers available to you and choose one that is best suited for your requirements, both in
terms of the interest rate and other features.

CTA: There are many lenders in Australia, including the big four, that provide specialist home
loans for doctors. You can start your search by comparing home loans online or contacting
individual lenders or a mortgage broker for assistance.

Do Doctors Need A Mortgage Broker to Get A Home Loan?

No, you don’t need a mortgage broker to get a home loan if you are a doctor or any other
professional. Like other borrowers, you can always choose to contact lenders directly to
take out a home loan. However, if you do decide to work with a verified mortgage broker,
you will receive expert hand holding from start to finish, making your home loan journey
much smoother and more productive.

There are several reasons why you can benefit from working with a mortgage broker, such
as expert financial advice and information about home loan deals that are matched to your
personal requirements. As brokers work with several lenders, they are aware of ongoing
home loan deals and eligibility criteria of most of the banks and non-bank lenders, which
enables them to provide you with astute financial advice regarding your home loan.

A mortgage broker also works around your timetable so that you don’t have to spend a lot
of time from your busy schedule fishing for suitable home loan deals or filling lengthy forms
when you’d rather be saving lives. That being said, it is entirely your choice whether you
wish to work with a mortgage broker or approach lenders directly to arrange your medico
home loan. Either way, you can start researching your home loan options by comparing
home loan deals from multiple lenders in Australia, here.