Junior doctor home loans: interns, residents and registrars

Eligible interns can buy with a 5% deposit plus buying costs and no lenders mortgage insurance (LMI). Your registration needs to fit the lender's offer, and your current income needs to cover the repayments.

If you're about to start hospital work, send us your signed contract before you make an offer on a home. We can find out whether a lender will assess it now or needs payslips first, then help you choose a loan and handle the application while you get on with work.

This guide is for interns, residents and registrars starting their hospital careers. For the full lender comparison, investment loans or private practice income, see our doctor home loan guide.

I've helped junior doctors get the LMI waiver approved even when a bank objected to their job title. Your Ahpra registration still needs to meet the lender's requirements.

Australian and New Zealand medical graduates generally hold provisional registration during their internship. To move to general registration, they need to complete the required training, apply and receive Medical Board approval.

I'd check your Ahpra registration first, because banks accept different registration types. Your job title doesn't tell us that on its own.

You don't need to earn a set minimum income for Westpac or St George's doctor offer. How much they'll lend depends on your pay, living costs and other debts. They also check the property, who will own it and how the loan will be set up.

For the full lender comparison, see our main doctor guide.

Send us your signed hospital contract and we can start comparing your options. If you've recently started but haven't had a payslip yet, NAB can use that contract or a letter from the hospital. If you haven't started yet, we'll check with NAB first. The bank still needs to check your registration and the rest of your application. We'll also tell you what else it needs before you rely on an approval.

A rotation at another hospital isn't necessarily a change of employer. Check who employs and pays you, rather than assuming a new work location means starting again.

For a fixed-term contract, include its end date and any written renewal or next appointment. If you're on probation, show the probation terms too. There isn't one waiting period that applies to every bank, so we'd compare the options before telling you to wait.

A pre-approval can help you set a price range. Before you commit to a property, find out what the bank still needs to confirm your income and whether it will lend against that property.

Start with your base pay, then separate the overtime, penalties and allowances. Those extras can make a noticeable difference to the loan amount, but a lender may want a history before counting them in full.

If the purchase only works when every extra shift counts, ask us to compare the borrowing amount using base pay alone and using the extra income the lender will accept. You can then see how much the budget depends on those shifts.

Bring your salary-packaging statement as well as your payslips. We need to see which amounts are pay, which are reimbursements and which cover costs such as a car lease. Lenders treat packaging differently. Westpac and St George add back 100% of pre-tax deductions, NAB adds back up to $970 a month tax-free for hospital employees, and CBA counts 90% of the tax-free component. We can't count the same income twice, and car lease repayments still need to be included when the bank works out what you can afford. Our doctor guide's salary packaging section shows how each lender treats it.

Our doctor home loan guide compares salary packaging by lender. It explains how the same payslip can produce different borrowing estimates.

HECS repayments can leave less of your pay available for mortgage repayments. If you're close to clearing the debt, tell us the balance and when you expect to pay it off. That can change how the bank assesses your repayments.

I wouldn't use the deposit to clear HECS without comparing both options first. Paying it off might improve the repayment calculation, but leave you short of cash to buy. We can compare the loan amount and cash left in each case.

If you have a signed pay rise, include the new amount and start date so we can check whether the bank will use it. An expected consultant salary years from now is different from a documented pay rise.

How close you are to clearing HECS can change your borrowing power more than you'd expect. For one of our doctor clients, the gap between banks was about $250k on the same income. See how lenders treated his debt.

Your first hospital contract, provisional registration and a payslip full of allowances can be a lot to explain to a bank. We work through those details with you, then prepare the application for a lender that suits your situation.

Send us your contract and registration details. We can check what income evidence is needed and how much cash to allow for the purchase.

A 5% deposit is the starting point. You also need buying costs and enough cash for the weeks ahead, especially if you're moving for the job or waiting for your first pay.

Here's a simple example for a $700,000 home. Assume the bank values it at $700,000, you qualify to borrow 95% without LMI, and your income covers the repayments on a $665,000 loan.

I've allowed $15,000 for buying costs in this example. Replace it with your actual duty, legal, registration and inspection costs. If you are buying in Queensland, our stamp duty calculator helps estimate the duty component.

That leaves $10,000 for moving, a gap before payday and unexpected expenses. Whether that's enough depends on your situation. If it feels tight, compare a cheaper property or waiting to build more savings before stretching the loan.

If the bank's valuation comes in below the price, you'll need more cash for the same purchase. I'd leave room for that possibility before offering at the top of your budget.

Use the mortgage calculator to estimate your borrowing power, then compare the repayments with your budget. A smaller deposit leaves you with a larger loan.

Once we have two suitable lenders, compare the rate, fees and repayments for the same loan amount and term. A doctor package isn't automatically the cheaper loan. I'd also look at what a larger deposit changes, if you can afford it without using up your savings.

The money in an offset account reduces the loan balance you pay interest on, while staying available to use. That can help if you need cash for moving or a gap between jobs. Compare any extra rate or fees with the interest you'd save on the amount you expect to keep in the account.

Think beyond the current roster. If you might move for training, compare the cost of buying and selling again with renting for a while. Duty, legal fees and selling costs can make a short stay expensive.

If you plan to rent the home out after a move, tell us before applying. That can change the loan and first home buyer benefits you qualify for. Grants and duty concessions may require you to move in by a deadline and live there for a minimum period.

For the buying process itself, our first home buyer mistakes guide covers the checks before you sign.

We'll use those documents to compare the lenders that accept your registration and income. You'll get a borrowing estimate, a repayment comparison and a list of anything still needed to apply. If waiting for a payslip or another document would help, we'll explain why.

You don't need to collect a full year's paperwork before having that conversation. Start with what you have and we'll explain what the shortlisted lenders need.

Send us your registration, contract, savings and price range. We'll check the lender options and explain what you need for the next step.

Or call 1300 088 065

Client examples are based on real situations. Names and identifying details have been changed.