Mortgages for Medical Professionals
For doctors and medical professionals, partnering with a specialist broker who understands your unique circumstances can greatly enhance the success of your mortgage application and eliminate the stress of navigating the mortgage process. Whether you're looking to buy, invest, let, or remortgage, we can find a mortgage that meets your needs at competitive rates.
As a medical professional, you may have a more complex income derived from more than one source, for example Locum or Private Practice earnings as well as an NHS salary. Alternatively, as a newly qualified GP, you may have limited or no self-employment history.
Cleerly have more than 20 years’ specialist experience in securing doctors’ mortgages. We structure your mortgage application carefully to maximise your income presentation and reflect your financial status to mortgage lenders so that you may benefit from exclusive deals and better rates - many of which are not available on the High Street.
Getting in touch with our contractor mortgage specialists is easy – you can tell us a little bit about your background and receive quotes straight to your inbox using our quick quote form, compare potential mortgages using our online mortgage calculator, or just pick up the phone and give us a ring on 02394 212912.
Cleerly work with specialist mortgage lenders to establish your eligibility for a mortgage
In addition to meeting the standard eligibility criteria for securing a mortgage, obtaining a medical mortgage often requires extra documentation.
You may need to show registration with a professional body, such as the British Medical Association, alongside your professional qualifications. Factors like your age, employment status, and even your location, due to varying NHS pay bands across the UK, can also play a role. It's crucial to demonstrate your income and your ability to repay the loan confidently. Generally, advancing further up the pay scale can make the process smoother.
Cleerly use their specialist experience to comprehensively package your mortgage application to meet lenders’ criteria, providing peace of mind and improved access to mortgage deals. We will typically approach flexible lenders who are open to considering a broader set of criteria compared to typical mortgage providers.
Our approach involves crafting a personalised case for your unique situation, targeting smaller building societies, private banks, and other reputable lenders known for their adaptable approach.
This strategy may include:
- Utilising your NHS P60 and recent CV to establish your credibility and income potential.
- Gathering accounts from partnerships and obtaining statements from your practice's financial director to demonstrate projected earnings.
- Engaging with lenders familiar with LLP partners who are willing to consider a wider range of financial information.
- Communicating directly with underwriters to present a comprehensive overview of your wealth, assets, and potential future earnings.
Trusted lenders we work with
How much can doctors and medical professionals borrow for a mortgage?
Doctors may be able to secure more favourable terms and benefits through specialist mortgage deals compared to standard options, for example:
- Borrowing More: As a doctor, you may qualify for a larger loan amount, with potential borrowing based on five or more times your salary, compared to the four to 4.5 times typically offered by standard mortgages.
- Smaller Deposit: Certain lenders might accept a deposit as low as 5% for doctors, even if their standard maximum loan-to-value (LTV) is 90% or less.
- Lower Interest Rates: Doctors could gain access to exclusive interest rates that are more favourable than the lender’s standard offerings.
- Easier Acceptance: Your profession as a doctor can lead to more lenient lending criteria, as you are often considered a low-risk and attractive applicant.
Keep in mind that standard eligibility factors remain in effect. The amount you can borrow may be influenced by your existing financial commitments. Additionally, the mortgage deals you qualify for are often determined by factors like the type of property and your credit score. Try our mortgage calculator for an indicative idea of how much you may be able to borrow.
Eligibility
How to get a mortgage as a doctor
The best way to get a mortgage as a doctor is to use the services of a specialist dcotor mortgage broker. Through a broker, you will have access to both residential and buy-to-let mortgages, preferential borrowing rates (sometimes over six times your annual income), and both offset and interest-only mortgages.
Once we’ve helped you to find a mortgage that best suits your financial situation, we’ll put together an extensive, detailed application to send to potential lenders. To do this, we’ll need documentation like:
- Payslips and P60 (if you're employed)
- SA302 tax calculations (if any self-employed income is received)
- Income and expenditure accounts (if you run a limited company)
- Bank statements
- Potentially a letter from an accountant to provide projection of the current year earnings (again, if self-employed)
If you only have one year of accounts, as a self-employed GP for example, you should be able to ask your accountant for a letter containing a projection of your second-year earnings. We can also access lenders who are happy to work on just the first year of trading accounts for doctors.
First-time buyers
Getting a doctor mortgage as a first-time buyer
Through a doctor mortgage broker, doctors and other medical professionals can access mortgages with a 5% deposit, helping those who may have only been practicing for a year or so to buy a property that would have been out of reach with high street banks and lenders.
Although the government’s Help to Buy scheme has come to an end, first-time buyer doctors can still put their Lifetime ISA savings towards the deposit of a house up to the value of £450,000.
For those who are keen to get on the ladder but haven’t raised a large deposit, it’s also possible to apply for a doctor mortgage against a shared ownership property. Shared ownership properties give you the option of purchasing 25%, 50%, or 75% of the property, which means you’re only required to raise a deposit against the percentage of the property you intend to buy. There is the added bonus of certain shared ownership schemes that prioritise key workers when deciding who to sell to.
Mortgages for Doctors FAQs
While many lenders are keen to attract applications from doctors, the more complex nature of your employment might deter some. Here are a few reasons why securing a mortgage can be more challenging:
- Student Debt: As a medical professional, you probably have significant student debt. This may impact your affordability and monthly repayment capacity. This is why it is more important than ever to ensure all income is used, and lenders with more generous income multiples are concisdered.
- Short-Term Contracts: If you work across multiple short-term NHS contracts, you may face reluctance from some lenders who view your employment as unstable. However, specialist lenders often recognise the stability beyond these contracts. Cleerly have 20 years’ experience in working with specialist contractor mortgage lenders and we leverage these relationships to assist our clients in securing a mortgage.
- Income Structure: Doctors working as locums or in partnerships might find it difficult to prove their income. For instance, many GPs earn dividends instead of a salary, and it’s common for doctors to have income from multiple sources.
- Uncertain Location: The need to relocate frequently, especially in the early career stages, can make settling and purchasing a home in one place challenging. Additionally, frequent address changes might affect your credit score.
We can utilise your past NHS earnings alongside projected partnership drawings to present a personalised case tailored to your circumstances to the mortgage lender.
You can obtain a mortgage as soon as you begin your Foundation training. While in training, you'll need to satisfy the mortgage criteria for fixed-term contractors established by banks or building societies.
Yes, newly qualified doctors are eligible to apply for a mortgage as soon as they commence their Foundation training. Some lenders permit applications even before you start working, provided you have a confirmed written contract from your NHS Trust.
While many high street lenders may require you to put forward two to three years of accounts, when you go to a specialist locum mortgage broker like Cleerly, your affordability can be calculated through your current contract value, plus any other paperwork – such as contract history, bank statements and SA302 tax returns. Find out more about Locum Mortgages.
For self-employed doctors, the borrowing amount is determined by the earnings documented in your SA302 and tax year overviews from the past three years. However, owing to your profession, you might be able to secure a mortgage with certain lenders even with less than three years of evidence, provided you can demonstrate that your current work is sustainable.
Our expertise lies in arranging mortgages that leverage low borrowing rates, allowing you to make capital payments when bonuses, dividends, or profit shares become available.
Yes. Being a doctor can sometimes work to your advantage, allowing you to secure more favourable mortgage terms and rates, or achieve a higher loan-to-value ratio even with a smaller deposit. However, when it comes to buy-to-let purchases, other eligibility factors are considered more important, such as the strength of rental income, your property ownership history, and the type of investment property.