Assurance Financial has introduced MedPro Mortgage+, a specialty mortgage program offering eligible healthcare professionals up to 100% financing without private mortgage insurance.
The program joins a growing field of mortgage products aimed at borrowers who may have substantial student debt or limited down-payment savings early in their careers, but strong income potential.
Assurance is casting a fairly wide net. According to the lender's published program information, MedPro Mortgage+ is available to borrowers in the following medical professions and career stages:
- Medical doctors (MD)
- Doctors of osteopathy (DO)
- Optometrists (OD)
- Nurse practitioners (NP/AANP)
- Certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNA)
- Physician assistants (PA)
- Physical therapists
- Dentists (DMD, DDS, and BDS)
- Podiatrists (DPM)
- Pharmacists
- Veterinarians (DVM)
- Chiropractors
Medical residents and fellows are also eligible.
For LOs, that means the potential borrower pool for a so-called doctor loan may be considerably broader than the name suggests.
Assurance says MedPro Mortgage+ offers up to 100% financing without PMI and loan amounts up to $2 million.
The lender also says employment contracts may be considered in qualifying eligible borrowers and that the program provides flexible consideration of student-loan obligations.
That could be particularly relevant for residents, fellows, and other medical professionals moving into higher-paying positions whose current income may not yet reflect the compensation associated with a new job.
More Lenders Chase Medical Professionals
Assurance isn't alone in expanding its reach into this borrower segment.
In April, Newrez rolled out a Medical Professional Home Loan offering qualified borrowers up to 100% financing without traditional PMI, along with flexible treatment of student-loan debt and income qualification for early-career borrowers. Notably for brokers, Newrez made the program available through its wholesale channel in addition to retail, direct-to-consumer, and joint venture channels.
United Wholesale Mortgage followed in June with its own Doctor Loan and expanded the program a month later into three offerings with different eligibility and financing requirements.
UWM's expanded lineup illustrates why the details matter when LOs encounter these products. Its Teal product offers qualifying physicians and other doctoral-level healthcare professionals up to 100% financing, while its Pink option broadens eligibility to additional healthcare workers but caps financing at 97% LTV. Its Silver product extends up to 100% financing to physicians and select advanced healthcare providers.
A Niche Getting More Attention
The increased product activity follows growing capital-markets interest in medical-professional mortgages.
As NMP reported earlier this year, KBRA identified medical-professional mortgages as an emerging niche in the prime private-label residential mortgage-backed securities market.
The loans historically have been held largely on bank balance sheets, but KBRA said growing origination volumes and participation from prime private-label issuers could turn them into a more distinct securitized asset class. The ratings agency estimated medical-professional mortgage production entering prime private-label securitization channels could reach roughly $5 billion annually.
For LOs, the growth of the segment adds another reason to look beyond the traditional image of a doctor loan.
A newly hired physician with a large student-loan balance may be the obvious candidate. But depending on the lender and program, the potential borrower could also be a nurse practitioner, physician assistant, pharmacist, physical therapist, or another healthcare professional.
