Physician Mortgage Lenders in Iowa (2026): Who Lends, What They Publish

Most Iowa physicians buy near where they train or practice: Iowa City, home to University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics and its 32 residencies and 110 fellowships; Des Moines, with residencies at MercyOne and UnityPoint Health and the osteopathic medical school at Des Moines University; and the family medicine residency towns of Davenport, Mason City, Sioux City and Waterloo. This guide lists the lenders that publish a physician mortgage and lend in Iowa, what each one puts in writing, and the Iowa rules that shape the purchase: the state-run title system, the new homestead exemption and radon.

Physician mortgage lenders in Iowa

Every term below comes from the lender's own program page, and where it lends in Iowa from its own branch pages. If a lender doesn't publish something, we say so rather than fill it in.

Other banks to ask

These institutions mention a physician or professional loan, or appear on third-party lists of Iowa physician lenders, but don't publish enough for the table:

• Central Bank (Storm Lake, with locations in Iowa and South Dakota) lists physician loans for new and established doctors who want to buy, build or refinance a home on its mortgage page, without terms.
• UMB Bank, which took over Dubuque Bank & Trust, offers a professional mortgage for licensed doctorate holders, including doctors and dentists, without published terms.
• FNBO publishes 100% financing under $850,000 on its physician loan, but only within its lending areas, which it doesn't list. It has Iowa branches in Council Bluffs and Glenwood; ask whether your county is covered.
• MidWestOne Bank ran a Resident & Doctor Loan Program. MidWestOne merged into Nicolet National Bank, and its branches took the Nicolet name in August 2026; Nicolet's site doesn't list a physician loan, so ask before you count on it.
• GreenState Credit Union and U.S. Bank appear on third-party lists, but we couldn't find a physician mortgage on either one's own site.

Which lender, for whom

• Resident or fellow in Iowa City or Cedar Rapids: Hills Bank's resident loan is built for you; compare it with Truist, BMO and Regions, which publish 0% down and name trainees.
• Des Moines area: Regions has branches in Urbandale, and Truist, BMO and Flagstar lend statewide.
• Quad Cities: Old National has two Davenport branches and publishes 100% financing to $1 million for existing professionals.
• You want a 30-year fixed: BMO and Old National publish fixed rates. Flagstar is adjustable only.
• Nurse practitioner, PA, CRNA or pharmacist: Flagstar, Old National and Regions' Emerging Professionals Program name these professions, and Dupaco names pharmacists.
• More than five years out of training: BMO's 0% tier ends at year five and the program at year ten, and Truist's 0% and 5% tiers end ten years after training.

Do you need a physician loan in Iowa?

In expensive states, a physician loan often replaces a jumbo loan. In Iowa it usually doesn't have to: the statewide median sale price was $265,000 in June 2026, and the 2026 conforming loan limit is $832,750 in every Iowa county. Most physician purchases here fit a conventional loan.

The physician loan's advantages are the down payment, mortgage insurance and underwriting. A conventional loan with less than 20% down usually carries private mortgage insurance, while the physician programs above publish 0% to 5% down without it, can leave deferred student loans out of the debt-to-income ratio (rules vary by lender), and often let you close on a signed employment contract before your first paycheck. The trade-off is that physician loans can carry a higher rate than a conventional loan with 20% down. Get both quotes on the same day and compare the payment, including mortgage insurance; our physician mortgage vs. conventional guide walks through the math.

FirstHome: an option for residents

The Iowa Finance Authority's FirstHome program is a first mortgage with down payment help, offered through participating lenders to first-time buyers, meaning anyone who hasn't owned a primary residence in the last three years. Its 2026 income limits are well above a resident's salary, so a resident buying alone usually qualifies on income; an attending usually won't.

• Price limit: $566,000, or $692,000 in targeted areas.
• Help: a $2,500 grant toward the down payment and closing costs, or a second loan of up to 5% of the price with no monthly payment, repaid when you sell, refinance or pay off the first mortgage. Not both.
• Credit: a minimum score of 640.

FirstHome is its own mortgage, so it is an alternative to a physician loan, not an add-on. Check your whole household's income against the limit, not just yours. For whether to buy during training at all, see physician mortgages for residents.

Iowa Title Guaranty instead of title insurance

Iowa is the only state whose law bars the sale of title insurance within the state. Instead, an abstractor brings the property's abstract of title up to date, an Iowa attorney reviews it and writes a title opinion, and Iowa Title Guaranty, a division of the Iowa Finance Authority, issues a guaranty to the lender and the owner. The abstract update and the attorney's opinion are charged separately from the guaranty.

Lender coverage is a flat $175 up to $750,000 and $1 per $1,000 above that, and owner coverage up to $750,000 is free when the lender buys coverage at the same time. One rule matters for large physician loans: Title Guaranty requires a survey or property inspection report when the lender's coverage is above the conforming limit, so a loan over $832,750 adds that step and its cost.

Property taxes and the homestead exemption

Iowa property taxes are set locally. Each county, city, school district and other taxing body levies a rate per $1,000 of taxable value, and residential taxable value is the assessed value times a rollback percentage the Iowa Department of Revenue sets each November. Ask the lender to use the actual tax bill for the address, not an estimate, because it goes into the payment you qualify on.

In 2026, Iowa replaced the homestead tax credit with a homestead exemption: 10% of the home's taxable value, at least $5,500 and at most $20,000, starting with assessment year 2026 (taxes paid in September 2027 and March 2028). The cap rises with inflation from 2027.

File the claim with your city or county assessor by July 1 of the year you want it to start. You must live in the home as an Iowa resident, and the exemption carries over in later years. Homeowners 65 and older get an additional $6,500 exemption.

Test for radon before you close

The EPA places every Iowa county in its highest radon zone, and Iowa's statewide radon survey found 71.6% of homes above the EPA's action level of 4 picocuries per liter, the largest share in the country. Iowa doesn't require testing or mitigation when a home sells, but the seller's disclosure statement must report any radon test they know of, and buyers receive the state's radon fact sheet. Put a radon test in your inspection contingency so you can negotiate mitigation before closing.

What to ask every lender

1. Do you make physician loans in my county, and what is my down payment at this price?
2. How do you count my student loans: deferred, income-driven, or a percentage of the balance?
3. Is a 30-year fixed available, or only adjustable rates?
4. What would this loan cost compared with a conventional loan with 5% and 20% down?
5. How many days before my start date can we close?

None of these lenders publishes physician loan rates. This week's national benchmark is on our mortgage rates page; get written quotes from two or three lenders on the same day and compare the rate, points and closing costs together. If you're also weighing a job in Iowa, see Iowa physician loan repayment programs.