Best Nurse Practitioner Mortgage Loans (0% to 10% Down)

Advanced training and education comes at a cost for nurse practitioners — both in terms of racking up NP student debt and hitting the pause button on many personal goals, such as owning a home. But the importance and reliability of your NP degree is gaining traction in the banking world. Some lenders now offer nurse practitioner mortgage loans to help make homeownership a reality for many in the nursing field.

Nurse practitioner mortgage loans offer a low down payment solution for early-career nurse practitioners. They also come with more relaxed underwriting criteria, making it easier to qualify for than a conventional loan. Read on to learn about how you can benefit from a nurse practitioner mortgage and where to find one.

What are nurse practitioner mortgage loans?

A nurse practitioner mortgage loan, or NP mortgage for short, is a specialty home loan program that provides down payment options that are as low as $0. Unlike a conventional mortgage that generally requires a 20% down payment, nurse practitioner mortgages don’t require private mortgage insurance (PMI) regardless of your chosen down payment.

Nurse practitioner mortgage loans usually fall within a broader category called a physician mortgage program. But depending on the lender, it might be classified as a professional home loan. Nurse anesthetists and registered nurses may or may not be considered a qualifying profession.

Here are some of the perks that might come with a NP mortgage:

• Low down payment options, ranging from 0% to 10% down.
• No PMI, potentially saving you thousands of dollars each year.
• Higher loan limits than a conventional loan (e.g. $647,200 in most parts of the country)
• Modified treatment of student loan balances when calculating your DTI ratio.
• More lenient income requirements, including the ability to close on a home before starting a new position (requires a valid employment contract).

These physician mortgage programs used to be exclusive to just medical doctors and dentists. But over time, lenders have cast a wider net to include other high-income, high-student debt professions.

So while your options might be limited now, hopefully, banks will continue to grow their programs and include more professions within the nursing field with time.

6 Top lenders offering nurse practitioner mortgage loans

Nurse Practitioner mortgages are specifically for purchasing or refinancing a primary residence. But they can be hard to find since information about physician mortgage programs isn’t typically readily available online.

So, we’ve gathered information on nurse practitioner mortgage loans and included contact information for loan officers when available. Note that lenders are listed alphabetically.

1. Consumers Credit Union

Consumers Credit Union offers Indiana and Michigan nurse practitioners 0% down for home loans up to $750,000 and 5% down for up to $1 million.

This lender excludes all student loan debt from its DTI calculations and has low down payment options for single-family investment properties, as well.

States available: IN, MI

2. Flagstar Bank

Flagstar Bank offers one of the most inclusive physician and professional home loan programs, encompassing a variety of high-income earners. Nurse practitioners nationwide can use this program to secure up to 100% financing with no PMI on loan amounts up to $1 million.

Note that Flagstar Bank doesn’t offer a fixed-rate mortgage as part of this program, but it does have a variety of adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) options.

States available: AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NC, ND, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY

3. First Merchants Bank (formerly Level One Bank)

Nurse practitioners can use a First Merchants Bank Community One Professional Loan to put 3% down for up to $350,000 with no PMI. Although this isn’t as sweet of a deal as their physician loan program, there aren’t many banks offering this type of financing for the nursing profession at this time.

States available: IL, IN, MI, OH

4. FNBO Mortgage (First National Bank of Omaha)

FNBO offers physician and professional mortgage loans with low down payment options and no PMI. As a nurse practitioner, you can qualify for up to $750,000 in financing with 5% down or $1 million with a 10% down payment.

FNBO provides a variety of competitive fixed and variable interest rate options, as well as FHA and VA loans.

States available: CO, IA, IL, KS, MO, NE, SD, TX, WY

5. Frandsen Bank & Trust

Frandsen Bank & Trust works with a variety of medical professionals, including nurse practitioners, to provide low down payment financing in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Loan amounts are available for up to $2 million with 0% to 10% down options.

Note that a minimum credit score of 720 is needed, which is slightly higher than other physician mortgage loan programs.

States available: MN, WI

6. U.S. Bank

U.S. Bank’s physician mortgage has very narrow eligibility requirements in terms of qualifying professions. Therefore, nurse practitioners aren’t eligible for this specific program. But U.S. Bank offers an alternative low down payment mortgage called an 80-10-10 that might be beneficial if you can’t afford a 20% down payment and don’t qualify for other nurse practitioner mortgage loans.

States available: AL, AK, AZ, CA, CO, ID, IL, MA, MT, MI, MN, MS, NE, NV, ND, NM, OK, OR, RI, SD, TX, UT, WA, WY, WI

Is a nurse practitioner mortgage loan right for you?

Nurse practitioners can score low down payment financing for their new home simply by leveraging their degree. By using a nurse practitioner home loan, you can avoid PMI, access higher loan limits and benefit from more flexible underwriting criteria.

However, unlike other medical professions, you don’t have a long list of banks to choose from. So, it’s worth noting that if you happen to be married to a doctor or dentist, you’ll have more options when using their position and degree to your family’s advantage.

That said, nurse practitioner mortgage loans can be a great opportunity for early- to mid-career healthcare professionals who would traditionally need to wait years to buy a home.

Fill out the form below to start receiving quotes for nurse practitioner mortgage loans or explore some of the best physician mortgage lenders across the country to learn more.