What is a Veterinarian Home Loan?
A veterinarian home loan is a physician mortgage that a lender extends to veterinarians. Physician mortgages are home financing solutions designed for medical professionals. Many medical professionals spend a lot of money on training, a lot of time in school and therefore do not have the adequate savings or work history to qualify for a conventional mortgage. In the eyes of the lender, however, they are great customers with high earning potential and thus the physician mortgage was born.
Doctor home loans, veterinarian home loans and physician mortgages are all the same thing: They are generous and forgiving financing solutions for medical professionals.
Veterinarian Designations Eligible for Physician Mortgages
Keep in mind that some lenders allow veterinarians to qualify for their physician mortgage program, and some do not. Down below are the specific medical designations of a veterinarian. Later in the article we’ll review which lenders consider which designations eligible.
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM)
This medical degree is the most common for a veterinarian in America. Veterinarians with DVM degrees have graduated from United States veterinary schools and earned a doctorate, which is required to practice veterinary medicine. When you’re applying for a physician mortgage, you will find if a lender considers veterinarians eligible, it is a DVM veterinarian.
Veterinary Medical Doctorate (VMD)
For reasons unknown, the University of Pennsylvania is the only veterinary school in America where the graduates earn a veterinary medical doctorate degree instead of a doctorate degree in veterinary medicine. In other words, a VMD is the exact same as a DVM. No lenders recognize VMD so if you are seeking a veterinarian home loan, be sure and use your DVM designation on the application.
Ready to See Your Options? Check Your Rates Here
Benefits of a Veterinarian Home Mortgage
As noted, a veterinarian home loan is essentially a physician mortgage. And the benefits of physician mortgages are excellent! For example:
- No Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) – Conventional mortgages require the borrower to purchase private mortgage insurance (PMI) if they put down less than 20%. The cost of PMI ranges between less than 1% – 5% of the loan, depending on the lender. That said, physician mortgages don’t require PMI!
- Down payment is optional – Most lenders who offer a veterinarian home mortgage have at least one 100% financing product. That means you would not have to come up with the savings for a down payment.
- No work history needed – Given the training that veterinarians have to go through, lenders that extend them physician mortgages do not require work history in order for you to qualify for a mortgage.
- Debt-to-income ratios don’t apply – Lenders created doctor loan programs with the understanding that this cohort of the population has more debt than most. Veterinarian home loans recalculate the impact of student loan debt or dismiss it altogether. Worried about your $150k in student loans? Don’t be, lenders that offer doctor home loans don’t count it against your DTI (debt-to-income ratio).
- Jumbo mortgages – Veterinarian mortgages allow higher loan balances than conventional and FHA mortgage loans. A physician mortgage lender may enable you to buy homes for $1 million, $2 million, or more.
Qualifying for a Veterinarian Mortgage
Qualifying for a veterinarian mortgage is one of those things that really depends on the lender. For example, there is one lender at LeverageRx who requires veterinarians have a credit score of at least 720 in order to qualify for their physician mortgage. There are other lenders, however, who do not stipulate an exact credit score requirement.
Another consideration when wondering if you qualify for a physician mortgage (as a veterinarian) is how long you have been practicing, or if you have even started your career. Some lenders require you to be practicing as a doctor for at least 1 year, but no more than 10 years. Other lenders extend their physician mortgages to veterinarians who aren’t yet necessarily employed, but do have an employment contract and will be starting their career in 180 days or less. A third consideration is the state in which you are buying a home. Some lenders extend their physician mortgages to veterinarians in all the same states as they extend to surgeons, but other lenders only allow veterinarians to qualify in certain states.
LeverageRx Helps You Find the Best Lenders in All 50 States
Veterinarian Mortgage Loan Lenders
As mentioned, not all lenders who have physician mortgage programs extend those programs to veterinarians.
Lenders with Physician Mortgage Programs where Veterinarians do NOT Qualify:
- Truist
- PNC Bank
- U.S. Bank
- Regions
- TD Bank
- Citizens
- Consumers Credit Union
- BMO Harris
- Mercantile Bank
- First Horizon
- UMB Bank
As a veterinarian shopping for a physician mortgage, therefore, be aware that the lenders above do have excellent doctor home loan programs, but unfortunately veterinarians do not qualify.
Lenders with Physician Mortgage Programs where Veterinarians DO Qualify:
- S&T Bank
- Northpointe
- Fulton Mortgage
- Fifth Third
- Frandsen Bank & Trust
- First National Bank
- Level One
- Huntington Bank
- Berkshire Bank
- Flagstar
- LeaderOne
Authors
