In Maryland, the Comparison Is Not About Loan Size
Program and regulatory figures verified October 9, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
Most physician-loan comparisons lean on loan size. Maryland's conforming limits take that argument away, which makes the honest version shorter and more useful.
Side by side
| Physician portfolio | Conventional (agency) | |
|---|---|---|
| Income document | signed contract | pay stubs, or contract inside ~90 days |
| Start-date window | 150 days | ~90 days |
| Student debt | programme-specific treatment | agency formula |
| Loan limit | lender's own | ★ $1,249,125, $1,209,750 or $832,750 |
| Who holds it | the lender | Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac |
No rate column. We publish no rates, and a comparison that invented two would mislead more than it helped.
★★ Why the usual argument does not work here
On most physician sites, one selling point is that the portfolio product lets you borrow past the conforming limit. In Maryland that case is thin.
The top agency limit is $1,249,125. In four counties, a purchase well into seven figures is still conventional. Calvert sits at $1,209,750. Even the $832,750 baseline is roughly twice Baltimore's typical value of $400,263.
★ So the question is not "which product lets me buy this house". It is "which product fits my documents and my debt".
When the physician loan is clearly right
- You are closing more than 90 days before your start date. This is the common case for a July start and it is decisive.
- Your student loan payment breaks agency debt-to-income.
- You have little saved for a down payment after training.
The timing rule · The debt treatment.
★ When conventional is the better answer
We would rather lose the portfolio loan than put you in the wrong product:
- You already have 20% down and manageable student debt.
- You are already employed and paid, with stubs in hand. The contract advantage is worth nothing to you.
- Your purchase sits under the applicable Maryland limit, which in four counties means a very high ceiling indeed.
★ In Maryland that third bullet covers more buyers than it would anywhere else in this network, which is why we have put it this plainly.
And above the limit
A loan above the applicable jurisdiction limit is a jumbo: not agency, underwritten to the lender's standards, typically with tighter reserve expectations. Given $1,249,125, that is a narrower band in Montgomery County than most buyers assume.
★ One thing that applies to either product
The §13-203 first-time-buyer provision is a statutory matter about the transfer tax, not a mortgage feature. It applies regardless of which loan you take, and it is tested on Maryland ownership only. Read it before you close.
Send the contract, the servicer statements, the jurisdiction and the price range, and we will say which product fits. Mike Certo, NMLS #260555. (480) 296-6513.
Frequently asked questions
Is a physician loan better than a conventional loan in Maryland?
Less often than elsewhere. Maryland's top agency conforming limit is $1,249,125 and the baseline is $832,750, so conventional financing remains available at high purchase prices. The physician product wins on timing when you are closing more than ninety days before your start date, and on student-debt treatment.Does the conforming loan limit apply to conventional loans in Maryland?
Yes, and it varies by jurisdiction. Montgomery, Prince George's, Frederick and Charles counties carry $1,249,125 for a one-unit property in 2026, Calvert carries $1,209,750, and the remaining nineteen jurisdictions carry $832,750.When should a Maryland physician take a conventional loan instead?
When the portfolio product has no problem to solve: twenty percent down, modest student debt, employment already begun with pay stubs available, and a purchase inside the applicable jurisdiction limit, which in four Maryland counties is a very high ceiling.Does the Maryland first-time buyer transfer tax break depend on which loan I use?
No. Md. Code, Tax-Property section 13-203 governs the state transfer tax, not the mortgage. It applies regardless of whether you take a physician loan, a conventional loan or a jumbo, and it is tested on prior ownership within Maryland.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.