You Can Close 150 Days Before the Job Starts
Program and regulatory figures verified October 9, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
The feature that makes a physician loan worth having in a state where loan size never binds.
The rule
A physician mortgage qualifies you on a signed employment contract rather than on pay stubs from a job that has not begun. Two things must be true of the contract:
- a start date, no more than 150 days after the note date, and
- compensation defined over at least a 12-month period.
Agency underwriting runs on roughly 90 days. The extra sixty is the whole product in a state like Missouri, where the conforming limit is $832,750 and the priciest metro is $327,320. Why size never binds here.
★ What counts as the document
A signed contract. Not a draft, not a verbal, not a letter of intent.
And it must state compensation. An offer saying compensation is "to be determined" is not a qualifying document, which, in a state whose own loan repayment programme currently says eligible professions are "to be determined," is a useful reminder that the phrase means the same thing in both places: nothing you can plan on. The SLRP parallel.
★ Contingencies are where files fail
| Contingency | Treatment |
|---|---|
| Your medical licence | ordinary, expected |
| Normal administrative items (background check, drug testing) | ordinary |
| ★ Board certification | ★ needs reviewing before you rely on it |
| ★ Credentialling beyond those items | ★ needs reviewing |
| ★ A funding or probationary decision | ★ needs reviewing |
Send us the contract when you receive it, not when you are under contract on a house. The review takes minutes; discovering a problem after an accepted offer does not.
★ The Missouri wrinkle
In some states a physician can reasonably think about a pending loan repayment award while timing a purchase. In Missouri right now you cannot, for a simple reason: SLRP publishes no award amount, and its eligible professions are undetermined.
HPLRP does publish figures, up to $65,000 at doctorate level, but it is still a two-year service obligation paid over time, not a sum available at closing. HPLRP.
★ So in Missouri the timing conversation is cleanly about the contract and the student debt, and nothing else. That is simpler than most states, and we would rather you plan on the simple version.
What still has to be true
The 150-day rule relaxes the timing of income, not the rest of the file: credit review, property qualification, student-debt treatment and cash at closing all still apply. How debt is counted.
Mike Certo, NMLS #260555. (480) 296-6513 · mcerto@cfmtg.com.
Frequently asked questions
How early can a physician loan close before the start date in Missouri?
Up to 150 days before the employment start date, on a signed employment contract showing a start date and compensation over at least a twelve-month period. Agency underwriting works on roughly a 90-day runway, so a spring closing against a summer start typically falls outside agency guidelines but inside the physician programme.What must a physician employment contract show?
A start date no more than 150 days after the note date, and salary or compensation covering at least twelve months. It must be signed: a draft, a verbal agreement or a letter of intent does not qualify, and an offer stating that compensation is to be determined is not a qualifying document.Which contract contingencies cause problems?
Contingencies limited to your medical licence or to normal administrative items such as background checks and drug testing are ordinary. A contingency on board certification, on credentialling beyond those items, or on a funding or probationary decision needs reviewing before the contract is relied on for qualification.Can I count a Missouri loan repayment award when timing a purchase?
Not usefully at present. The Student Loan Repayment Program publishes no award amount and its eligible professions are undetermined, and the Health Professional Loan Repayment Program pays against a two-year service obligation over time rather than providing funds at closing. The timing conversation in Missouri is about the employment contract and the student debt.Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about physician mortgage financing, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax or financial advice. The Missouri Student Loan Repayment Program and the Health Professional Loan Repayment Program are administered by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, not by Cornerstone; their terms, award amounts, eligible professions and application cycles are set by DHSS and change. Figures here carry the date we verified them against the programmes' own published pages. Physician-loan program terms, eligible degrees and overlays are set by the lender and change. All loans are subject to borrower, property and program qualification.