Closing Before You Start Work in Pennsylvania
Program and regulatory figures verified October 6, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
Pennsylvania has a lot of July start dates and a housing market that does not wait until July. This is the feature that resolves that.
What problem does this solve?
An incoming attending or fellow signs in winter or spring, starts in July, and wants to be living somewhere before then. The income supporting the mortgage has not started yet.
Agency underwriting is built for a shorter runway. Fannie Mae's employment rules work on about 90 days between closing and the start of employment. A March closing against a July start falls outside that. The physician program extends it to 150 days, which covers it.
What does the contract have to show?
Three things, and they are specific:
- The start date of employment, which must be no more than 150 days after the note date.
- Salary or compensation details.
- That compensation must cover at least a 12-month period.
So an offer letter with a start date and a defined twelve-month compensation figure is the document. A letter with "compensation to be determined" is not.
★ The part that trips people up
The contract may only include contingencies related to:
- Your receipt of your medical licence, or
- Normal administrative requirements, such as background checks, drug testing and fingerprinting.
Anything else is outside the guideline. A contract contingent on board certification, on credentialling beyond the administrative items, on a funding decision, or on a probationary review is a different document and needs to be looked at before you rely on it.
This is worth checking early, because it is the kind of thing nobody reads until underwriting asks. Send us the contract when you get it rather than when you are under contract on a house.
Why it matters particularly here
Pennsylvania's medical employment is heavily academic and heavily July-start. Across the Philadelphia systems, UPMC and Allegheny Health Network in the west, Penn State Health at Hershey, Geisinger, Lehigh Valley and St. Luke's, the academic calendar drives the hiring calendar.
Which means a large share of Pennsylvania physician purchases are spring purchases against a summer start. The 150-day window is not an edge case here; it is the normal case.
What still has to be true?
Everything else. Credit and income review, property qualification, the student-debt treatment, and the cash you need on closing day.
That last one is the Pennsylvania catch. Closing early does not reduce the realty transfer tax, which is 4.578% in Philadelphia and the Commonwealth's 1% plus a local rate elsewhere, and it is due at recording. If you are closing before your first paycheque, that cash has to come from savings or a signing payment. The figures.
★ And one thing to check before you sign
If your offer includes a recruitment bonus that obligates you to remain at the site, it makes you ineligible for Pennsylvania's loan repayment program, which pays up to $80,000. The same contract you are using to close early is the one that decides that. The trade.
Send us the contract and we will tell you what it supports on the mortgage side. Call (480) 296-6513.
Frequently asked questions
How early can a physician loan close before the start date?
Up to 150 days before the employment start date, on a signed employment contract. Fannie Mae's agency rules work on roughly a 90-day runway, so a spring closing against a July academic start typically falls outside agency guidelines and inside the physician program's.What does my employment contract need to show for a physician loan?
The start date of employment, which must be no more than 150 days after the note date, and salary or compensation details covering at least a twelve-month period. Contingencies in the contract may only relate to your receipt of your medical licence or to normal administrative requirements such as background checks, drug testing and fingerprinting.Can I buy a house in Pennsylvania before I start my new physician job?
Yes, up to 150 days before the start date with a signed employment contract meeting the program's requirements. You will still need cash at closing, which in Pennsylvania includes realty transfer tax: 4.578% in Philadelphia, or the Commonwealth's 1% plus a local rate elsewhere. That is due at recording regardless of when your first paycheque arrives.Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax, or licensure advice. Physician-loan program terms, eligible degrees, and overlays are set by the lender and change. Pennsylvania Primary Care Loan Repayment Program award amounts, eligibility and application cycles are set by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and change; figures here carry the date we verified them against the Department's published RFA and Fact Sheet. Realty transfer tax rates are set by the Commonwealth and by local jurisdictions and change. All loans are subject to borrower and property qualification, including credit and income review.