The Physician Loan, Explained for Maryland
Program and regulatory figures verified October 9, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
The product is national. What it meets in Maryland is a statutory definition worth real money and the highest conforming limits in the country.
What the product actually is
A portfolio mortgage for physicians and a short list of adjacent professions, built around one problem: a doctor's income arrives late and their debt arrives early.
- Qualifies you on a signed employment contract rather than pay stubs from a job that has not begun.
- Works on a start date up to 150 days out, against roughly 90 for agency.
- Treats physician student debt differently in the debt-to-income calculation.
Held in portfolio rather than sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, which is why the terms belong to the lender and why they move. That is also why we publish no eligible-degree list.
★★ Maryland thing one: the statute
Md. Code, Tax-Property §13-203(b)(1) defines a first-time Maryland home buyer as an individual who has "never owned in the State residential real property that has been the individual's principal residence."
If that is you, the state transfer tax halves from 0.5% to 0.25% and "shall be paid entirely by the seller." A physician relocating from another state who owned a home there is not excluded by that fact.
★ Conditions: occupancy, every grantee qualifying, and a statement signed under oath. The full rule.
★★ Maryland thing two: three loan limits
| Tier | Limit | Where |
|---|---|---|
| ★ High-cost | $1,249,125 | Montgomery, Prince George's, Frederick, Charles |
| Mid | $1,209,750 | Calvert |
| Baseline | $832,750 | the other 19 |
★ A $416,375 swing, 50% more capacity at the top. The practical consequence runs against the usual grain: in the DC-belt counties you may not need a jumbo at a price where you would assume you do. Every jurisdiction.
★ Maryland thing three: MLARP, and its ceiling
$100,000 full-time for physicians, final-year residents, PAs and APRNs including CRNAs. $50,000 part-time. Two-year obligation, three for the final-year resident route.
★ And the limit most programmes never publish: "up to two (2) MLRP service obligations per lifetime." The table.
The thing that usually decides the file
Your student loan monthly payment, not the balance. How it is counted.
★ What it is not
- Not a grant, and not down payment assistance.
- Not a rate you can look up. We publish none; pricing is file-specific.
- Not automatic. Eligibility is a lender determination on documents.
- Not connected to MLARP. We are the lender; the Department of Health runs the programme.
- Not legal advice on §13-203. We quote it; your attorney and title company apply it.
The sequence that works
- Get the contract executed, with a start date and twelve-month compensation.
- Pull servicer statements for every student loan.
- Tell us the jurisdiction, because in Maryland it changes the product.
- Raise §13-203 with your title company during the contract, not at the table.
- Then talk about houses.
Mike Certo, NMLS #260555, Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855. (480) 296-6513 · mcerto@cfmtg.com.
Frequently asked questions
What is a physician loan?
A portfolio mortgage for physicians and some adjacent professions that qualifies a borrower on a signed employment contract rather than pay stubs, works on a start date up to 150 days out, and treats physician student debt differently in the debt-to-income calculation. It is held by the lender rather than sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.What should a Maryland physician know before getting a mortgage?
Three things: that Md. Code, Tax-Property section 13-203 tests first-time buyer status on Maryland ownership only, so prior out-of-state ownership may not disqualify you; that Maryland runs three conforming loan limit tiers topping out at $1,249,125; and that MLARP pays up to $100,000 but is capped at two service obligations per lifetime.Is a physician loan connected to Maryland's loan repayment programme?
No. The mortgage is the lender's product. The Maryland Loan Repayment Programs are administered by the Maryland Department of Health, which sets eligibility, award amounts and application cycles.Which degrees qualify for a physician loan?
Eligible degrees are a lender term that changes between programmes and over time, so this site publishes no list. Send your credential and start date and we will tell you which current programmes accept it.Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about physician mortgage financing, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax or financial advice. The Maryland Loan Repayment Programs are administered by the Maryland Department of Health, not by Cornerstone; their terms, award amounts and application cycles are set by that department and change. Md. Code, Tax-Property §13-203 is quoted so you can take it to your own attorney and title company; whether a particular buyer qualifies as a first-time Maryland home buyer is established by a statement signed under oath, not by a lender. Figures here carry the date we verified them against primary sources. Physician-loan program terms, eligible degrees and overlays are set by the lender and change. All loans are subject to borrower, property and program qualification.