Truist finances 100% of the purchase up to $1,500,000, 95% up to $2,000,000 and 90% up to $2,500,000. There is no mortgage insurance, the minimum credit score is 720, and the program covers 47 states. Podiatrists are named alongside physicians and dentists.
Two things set this program apart. The first is that finishing training more than ten years ago does not disqualify you the way it does at most lenders; it only costs you the zero-down tier. The second is that new 1099 work can be used to qualify, as long as a minimum income is guaranteed, which is unusual anywhere.
Truist Doctor Home Loan at a Glance
| Maximum loan amount | $2,500,000 |
| Lowest down payment | $0, on loans up to $1,500,000 |
| Minimum credit score | 720, with 680 and above possible against 5 to 10 percent down |
| Mortgage insurance | None |
| Where it lends | 47 states, not Alaska, Arizona or Hawaii |
| Property use | Primary residence only |
| Property types | Single family, attached planned unit development, warrantable condominium |
| Transactions | Purchase and refinance |
| Employment contract | Close up to 90 days before your start date |
| More than 10 years past training | Still eligible, but 10 percent down or more |
| Eligible degrees | MD, DO, DPM, DDS, DMD |
Who Qualifies, and Who Does Not
The published list is MD, DO, DPM, DDS and DMD. Physicians, podiatrists and dentists, in other words.
Podiatrists being named matters. DPM is the degree most often left off a physician loan eligibility list, so a podiatrist usually has to check program by program instead of assuming. Here the degree is stated, which removes the guesswork. There is more on that in our guide to mortgages for podiatrists.
Not on the list: veterinarians, optometrists, pharmacists and nurse anesthetists. If you hold one of those degrees this is not your program, and the answer is to find the ones that do name your degree rather than to apply and hope. Our pages for veterinarians and optometrists cover where those degrees stand.
The Three Down Payment Tiers
The tiers are set by loan size. The bigger the loan, the more you bring.
| Down payment | Share financed | Maximum loan |
|---|---|---|
| $0 | 100% | $1,500,000 |
| 5% | 95% | $2,000,000 |
| 10% | 90% | $2,500,000 |
Worth noticing what happens between the tiers. A $1,500,000 purchase needs nothing down. A $1,600,000 purchase needs $80,000. That is a $100,000 difference in price and an $80,000 difference in cash, so if you are shopping near that line the tier boundary is worth more attention than the price.
For context, the 2026 conforming loan limit, the ceiling on an ordinary mortgage that Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac will buy, is $832,750 in most of the country and $1,249,125 in high-cost counties (FHFA). All three Truist tiers reach past that, which is the point of a program like this.
Why 720 Is the Number That Decides Your Tier
The stated minimum is 720. Below that, 680 and above can still work, but with 5 to 10 percent down.
So the score does not decide whether you get a loan. It decides whether you get the zero-down version. At 720 with a $1,400,000 purchase you can bring nothing. At 700 with the same purchase you are looking for $70,000 to $140,000. Twenty points of credit score is the whole difference.
If you are close to 720, that is usually worth a few months of work before you apply rather than a compromise you accept at closing. Paying down a credit card to below a third of its limit and leaving old accounts open are the two changes that move a score fastest, and neither requires a big cash outlay.
The Ten Year Rule Works in Reverse Here
Most physician mortgage programs set a window: you qualify if you finished training within the last ten years, and after that you are simply out. It is the single most common reason an established doctor gets turned down for one of these loans.
Truist handles it differently. Being more than ten years past residency or fellowship does not end your eligibility. It moves you to a minimum of 10 percent down.
That is a meaningfully different answer. A physician fifteen years into practice who wants 90 percent financing on a $2,500,000 house has a program here. The same physician at most lenders has none. If you have been told you aged out of physician loans, that conclusion was probably about a different program.
Where the Program Is Available
Forty-seven states. The exclusions are Alaska, Arizona and Hawaii.
Arizona is the one to watch, because it is a common destination for physicians relocating for a first attending job and for retirement-adjacent practice moves. If you are buying in Phoenix or Tucson, this program cannot help you regardless of how well the rest of your situation fits.
Closing Up to 90 Days Before You Start
You can close up to 90 days before your contracted start date.
Ninety days is the most common window in this category, though it is not the widest. Some programs stretch to 150 days, and a few will look at a start date further out on a case-by-case basis. If your contract begins five or six months from now, ask before you make an offer, because the answer here is a firm 90 rather than a negotiable one.
Practically, that window is what lets you drive to a new city, buy a house and move in before your first day, instead of signing a year-long lease you will pay to break. Our guide to buying with an employment contract covers what the contract itself has to say and the one condition that derails the most purchases.
Qualifying on a Contract You Have Not Started Yet
Future income from a signed employment contract can be used to qualify. This is the feature that makes the whole category work for anyone finishing training.
Resident pay and attending pay are not in the same universe. AAMC puts first-year resident stipends at $68,166, rising to $89,187 by the seventh year. The median physician wage across all specialties is $275,930 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025). Qualifying on the first number buys a very different house than qualifying on the second.
A contract-based approval also gets used when you started your current position recently. If you have been in the job under a year, expect the contract to be reviewed rather than just your pay stubs.
How 1099 and Contract Work Is Treated
New 1099 employment can qualify, provided a minimum income is guaranteed in writing.
This is genuinely uncommon. Most lenders treat 1099 income as self-employment and want two years of tax returns before they will count a dollar of it, which shuts out a physician who just moved from a W-2 hospital job to a contracted role. Locum tenens work, emergency medicine contracts, anesthesia groups and a growing share of specialty practice all pay this way.
The condition is the guarantee. A contract with a floor, a stated minimum, or a guaranteed base gives the lender something to underwrite. A contract that only promises a rate per shift or a percentage of collections generally does not, because there is no number that has to be paid.
No Mortgage Insurance, and What That Is Worth
There is no private mortgage insurance on this program at any tier.
On an ordinary loan with less than 20 percent down, that insurance protects the lender against your default and pays you nothing. It runs roughly 0.46 percent to 1.50 percent of the loan every year (Urban Institute). On a $700,000 loan that is $3,220 to $10,500 a year, or $268 to $875 a month, for as long as you carry it.
This is the reason a physician loan with a slightly higher rate can still be the cheaper monthly payment. Compare the full payment, not the rate. Our breakdown of what zero down actually costs runs that math both ways.
You can put your own price and down payment into our physician mortgage payment calculator and see both payments side by side.
What You Can Buy With It
Primary residence only. Single family homes, attached planned unit developments, and warrantable condominiums, which means a condominium in a project that meets standard lending requirements on things like owner occupancy, budget funding and pending litigation.
Both purchases and refinances are covered.
What is out: second homes, vacation property, investment property and anything you will not live in. If part of your plan is renting out the first house when you upgrade later, that is fine, but the loan has to start as your home.
Relationship Pricing
Truist offers relationship pricing discounts, which reduce your rate in exchange for holding accounts at the bank. Programs like this usually key off a checking account with direct deposit, automatic payment of the mortgage, or a balance threshold.
The size of the discount is not published, and it is the kind of thing worth asking about before you lock rather than after. A quarter of a point on a $1,500,000 loan is real money.
What the Program Does Not Publish
Three things, stated plainly rather than guessed at.
The rate. No bank publishes physician loan pricing, because it is quoted one borrower at a time. Any specific number on a page like this would be wrong within days.
How student loans are counted. Whether a deferred balance is excluded, counted at your real income-driven payment, or calculated as a percentage of the balance is the single biggest variable on most physician applications, and it is not stated here. It is worth asking as a direct question. Our explainer on how student loans are counted will show you how much the answer moves your numbers.
The maximum debt-to-income ratio, which is your total monthly debts divided by your income before taxes. Not published for this program.
Common Questions About the Truist Doctor Home Loan
Does Truist Require a Down Payment?
Not on loans up to $1,500,000, where the program finances the full purchase price. Above that you need 5 percent to reach $2,000,000 and 10 percent to reach $2,500,000. If you are more than ten years past training, 10 percent is the minimum regardless of loan size.
What Credit Score Do You Need?
The stated minimum is 720. Scores of 680 and above can still work with 5 to 10 percent down, so the score does not decide whether you qualify so much as which tier you land in.
Does Truist Lend in My State?
In 47 of them. The program is not offered in Alaska, Arizona or Hawaii.
Can I Use the Program More Than Ten Years After Training?
Yes. Unlike most physician programs, which close the door at ten years past residency or fellowship, this one keeps you eligible and requires at least 10 percent down instead.
Can I Close Before I Start My New Job?
Yes, up to 90 days before your contracted start date, using the signed contract as proof of income. If your start date is further out than that, confirm before you write an offer.
Does the Program Charge Mortgage Insurance?
No. There is no private mortgage insurance at any tier, including the zero-down tier, which is where an ordinary loan would charge the most.
Can I Buy a Second Home or a Rental With It?
No. The program is limited to the home you will live in. Second homes, vacation homes and investment property are not eligible.
Are Veterinarians and Optometrists Eligible?
No. The published degree list is MD, DO, DPM, DDS and DMD. Veterinarians, optometrists, pharmacists and nurse anesthetists are not named, and eligibility for those degrees varies a great deal by program.
Is Truist the Right Fit for You
It fits best if you are a physician, podiatrist or dentist with a score at or above 720, buying a primary residence at or under $1,500,000 with nothing down. It is the strongest option on this site if you finished training more than ten years ago, since the ten-year cutoff that ends most programs only changes your down payment here. It is also worth a look if your new job pays 1099 with a guaranteed minimum, which most lenders will not work with at all.
It does not fit if you are buying in Alaska, Arizona or Hawaii, if you need a second home or an investment property, or if your degree is not one of the five named. A score in the 600s does not rule you out, but it does rule out the zero-down tier.
For what these programs have in common and what to ask any lender, start with our guide to physician mortgage requirements.
If you want us to check whether this program fits your degree, your state and your loan size, answer eight questions and we will tell you which lender’s program actually covers your situation. It takes about two minutes and costs you nothing.
Conforming loan limits from the FHFA. PMI cost range from the Urban Institute. Resident stipend figures from the AAMC. Median physician wage from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Lender programs change without notice, so confirm current terms before relying on them.