Flagstar Physician Loan Review (2026): 0% Down to $1M, No Excluded State, Open to NPs, PAs and Pharmacists, and Adjustable-Rate Only

Flagstar professional loan at a glance

Who qualifies

Flagstar lists professions where other lenders list degrees. For physicians and their usual company: medical doctor, doctor of osteopathy, dentist (DDS or DMD), podiatrist, veterinarian, optometrist, ophthalmologist, and doctor of pharmacy. Medical residents qualify with an educational license.

Then the list keeps going, and this is where Flagstar is unlike anything else we have reviewed:

• •Physician Assistant
• •Registered Nurse
• •Nurse Anesthetist
• •Nurse Practitioner
• •Clinical Nurse Specialist
• •Attorney
• •Certified Public Accountant
• •ATP Pilot

None of the other five lenders we have covered names a nurse practitioner, PA, or CRNA. Huntington takes veterinarians and Truist, TD, and KeyBank take podiatrists, but a CRNA earning $250,000 with $180,000 in loans has had no published 0%-down option in this series until now. The same goes for a pharmacist or an optometrist.

For a two-income medical household this matters in a second way. Flagstar requires that at least one occupying borrower hold a valid license in an eligible field. A physician married to an NP, or a PA buying with a non-clinical spouse, qualifies on one license.

Two groups should ask before assuming. Fellows aren’t named separately; a fellow holding a full license fits “Medical Doctor,” but the page doesn’t say so. And dental residents aren’t mentioned; the resident line reads “Medical Resident (Educational License).”

The 10-year rule

Flagstar’s disclosure: the borrower “must be within ten (10) years of the start of their profession and be actively engaged in the eligible profession.” After that the program is closed to you.

Unlike BMO, which drops 0% down after five years of practice, Flagstar publishes no step-down inside the ten years. Both tiers appear to be open for the whole window. Established clinicians past ten years should look at Huntington or KeyBank, which publish no limit.

Down payment tiers and loan limits

The first two tiers match Truist, TD, and BMO exactly. The third is missing. Those three lenders go to $2 million at about 10% down, Huntington to $2.5M, and KeyBank to $3.5M. Flagstar’s program stops at $1.5M, which at 5% down is a purchase price of about $1.58 million.

For most of the people this program is built for, that is plenty. A resident, a new hospitalist, a CRNA, or a pharmacist is rarely shopping above it. A specialist buying in a coastal metro may be, and should start elsewhere.

Adjustable-rate only

The program’s feature list says “Adjustable interest rate,” and the disclosure names three products: 5/6, 7/6, and 10/6 ARMs. The first number is the years your rate is fixed. The second is how often it can change afterward: every six months, for the rest of the loan. There is no fixed-rate version listed.

An ARM is a reasonable tool for a trainee. The typical resident sells or refinances within five to seven years, and the initial rate on a 7/6 is usually below a 30-year fixed. The risk comes if you stay. As an illustration: $800,000 at 6.5% is a payment of about $5,060. If that loan reset to 8.5% at month 85, the payment on the remaining balance would be about $5,975, roughly $900 more a month. Caps limit how fast that can happen, and Flagstar doesn’t publish them on this page, so ask for the initial, periodic, and lifetime caps in writing.

If you want a fixed rate on a physician loan, BMO and TD Bank put one in writing.

Property types and the fine print

• •Property. One-unit primary residences, warrantable condos, and PUDs. No two-unit homes; BMO allows those. “Warrantable” means the condo project meets Fannie Mae standards for owner-occupancy, reserves, and litigation. New construction towers and buildings with heavy investor ownership often don’t.
• •New York City co-ops. Eligible in all five boroughs if the building meets Fannie Mae requirements. For a resident at a Manhattan or Brooklyn program, where much of the affordable housing stock is co-op, this is a real opening. TD is the only other lender in this series that mentions co-ops.
• •Transactions. Purchase or rate/term refinance. Cash-out isn’t offered.
• •Interested party contributions. Allowed, which means a seller or builder can pay some of your closing costs. Flagstar adds that limits depend on occupancy and loan-to-value, and that contributions can’t go toward the down payment, reserves, or a minimum borrower contribution. That sentence tells you two things the page doesn’t otherwise say: there is a reserve requirement, and in some cases a minimum amount of your own money.
• •One at a time. You may have only one Professional or Doctor loan with Flagstar outstanding, and occupying borrowers may have no second home or investment property financed with Flagstar. If you plan to keep your residency condo as a rental and buy again with the same program, you can’t.

Where it’s available

The only geographic line in Flagstar’s disclosures is “Not available in Puerto Rico or U.S. Virgin Islands.” No state is excluded. Every other lender in this series either names excluded states or is limited to a footprint:

The practical cases: a physician buying in Alaska, Arizona, or Hawaii is excluded by Truist and, in Hawaii, capped at 95% by BMO. A buyer in New York is excluded by BMO. Flagstar publishes no obstacle in any of them. The absence of an exclusion is not the same as a promise, so confirm your state on the first call.

What Flagstar doesn’t publish, and what to ask

• •When the 10 years start. Ask: “I graduated in [year] and finished training in [year]. Am I eligible, and until when?”
• •Student-loan treatment and DTI ceiling. The page says “flexible qualifications” and nothing more. Ask: “Are deferred loans excluded from DTI? Do you use my income-driven payment? What is the maximum ratio?” Truist answers the first two in its disclosures; Huntington publishes 50%.
• •Closing before a start date. Not published. BMO and Huntington both print 90 days. Ask: “Can I close on a signed contract before I start, and how far ahead?”
• •ARM index, margin, and caps. Ask for all three, and for the highest payment the loan could ever reach.
• •Reserves, minimum contribution, and credit score. The disclosures imply the first two exist and mention credit score limits without stating them. Ask: “How many months of reserves, and does any of the money have to be mine?”
• •Whether terms differ by profession. The page gives one set of tiers for everyone on the list. If you are an RN, NP, PA, or pilot, ask: “Do the 100% tier and the $1 million limit apply to my profession?”

Rates

Flagstar doesn’t post rates for the Professional loan; it is priced per borrower, like every program on this site. The public benchmark is for a fixed loan, so treat it as a reference point and not a quote. Freddie Mac’s national average for a 30-year fixed conventional mortgage is 6.95% for the week of September 17, 2026. A 7/6 or 10/6 ARM normally prices below the 30-year fixed, and a physician program normally adds 0.125 to 0.5 points for the low down payment and no mortgage insurance. Where those two net out on your quote is the number to compare with a fixed-rate quote from BMO or TD.

Where our benchmark comes from: where our rates come from. Current numbers and a ten-year chart: mortgage rates.

Run Flagstar’s 0% tier against a conventional loan

The calculator starts from this week’s Freddie Mac average and assumes the physician loan is 0% down with no mortgage insurance, which is Flagstar’s first tier up to $1M. It models a level payment. For an ARM, that is your payment during the fixed period only, so enter the ARM rate you are quoted and read the result as the first five, seven, or ten years.

Strengths and drawbacks

Strengths

• •The widest published profession list in this series: NPs, PAs, CRNAs, clinical nurse specialists, RNs, pharmacists, and optometrists, alongside physicians, dentists, podiatrists, and veterinarians.
• •No state excluded on the page.
• •0% down to $1M with no mortgage insurance and no published step-down inside the ten-year window.
• •New York City co-ops eligible; seller contributions allowed.
• •Only one borrower needs to hold the license, and no bank account is required.

Drawbacks

• •Adjustable rate only, with the index, margin, and caps unpublished.
• •A $1.5M ceiling, the lowest in this series.
• •A ten-year limit measured from an undefined “start of their profession.”
• •Nothing published on DTI, student loans, or closing before a start date.
• •One program loan at a time, and no other Flagstar-financed second home or rental.

Who it’s for, and who should keep looking

• •NPs, PAs, CRNAs, clinical nurse specialists, pharmacists, and optometrists: yes. Start here.
• •Residents who expect to move in five to seven years: yes. An ARM’s fixed period covers the time you will own the home.
• •Buyers in Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, or New York, where Truist or BMO don’t lend or cap the loan: yes.
• •Residents buying a co-op in New York City: yes, if the building meets Fannie Mae requirements.
• •Anyone who wants a 30-year fixed: not here. Quote BMO or TD Bank.
• •Buying above $1.5M: Huntington or KeyBank.
• •More than ten years into the profession: not eligible. Huntington and KeyBank publish no limit.
• •Residents whose approval depends on how student loans are counted: quote Truist too; it is the only lender that publishes the rule.

How to apply, and what to have ready

• 1.Settle the 10-year question first. Have your graduation date, licensure date, and the date training ended. Ask which one Flagstar counts from.
• 2.Apply online, call 855-372-5626, or use the loan-advisor finder on Flagstar’s page. Say “Professional loan” by name; it is a specialty product and not every advisor handles it daily.
• 3.Pick the ARM term to match your plans, not the lowest rate. If there is a real chance you stay past residency, price the 10/6.
• 4.Gather the file: your license (or educational license), employment or training contract with salary and start date, pay stubs or tax returns if you have them, bank statements showing reserves, and your student-loan servicer statement with status and monthly payment. For a condo or co-op, get the building’s management contact early; the project review takes time.
• 5.Get a fixed-rate quote the same week from a lender that offers one, so you can see what the ARM is saving you and decide if it’s worth the risk.

Deciding whether a physician loan is right at all: read the physician mortgage guide.

Alternatives to quote alongside Flagstar

• •BMO: fixed or ARM, a third tier to $2M, and a 90-day start window, in every state but New York. MD, DO, DDS, and DMD only, and 0% down ends after five years of practice.
• •Truist: student-loan treatment in writing, a published rate discount, and loans to $2M. Not in Alaska, Arizona, or Hawaii; physicians, dentists, and podiatrists only.
• •Huntington Bank: also ARM-only on its published terms, but to $2.5M, with a 50% DTI ceiling and a 90-day early close in writing, and no years-out limit. Veterinarians eligible.
• •TD Bank: a fixed rate and co-ops in specific markets, on the East Coast only, with a TD checking account.
• •KeyBank: a $3.5M ceiling, fixed or variable, and cash-out refinancing, across a 15-state branch footprint.
• •Bank of America: no 10-year limit, loans to $2M, and medical students named. No 0% tier, reserves required, and NPs, PAs, and pharmacists are not listed.

We are reviewing each major physician lender against its own published terms. As each review publishes it is linked here and from the lender comparison.

Sources

• •Flagstar Professional Mortgage Loans (program page and disclosures)

Read September 20, 2026. Terms quoted are from the program page and the disclosures printed beneath it. Where this review says “not published,” the page contains no statement on the point.