One of you is a physician at Chandler Regional or Banner Ocotillo. The other is an engineer somewhere along the Price corridor, paid in salary plus a bonus plus equity that vests on a schedule.
On paper you are one of the strongest households a lender will see this year. And the pre-approval came back smaller than either of you expected, with no clear explanation of which part of the income did not count.
Two incomes, three different rulebooks
The physician side is the straightforward one. Under CMG Financial's MedPro Premier guidelines (NMLS #1820, revised 09/11/2026), a qualifying borrower can use future income from a fully executed employment contract, reaching 100% financing to $1,500,000 at a 680 score or to $2,000,000 at 720, with no mortgage insurance at any loan-to-value.
The second income is where Chandler files get complicated, and it is not one question but three.
Base salary is simple and counts.
Bonus generally needs a history and a demonstrated likelihood of continuance. A first-year bonus with no track record is treated differently from a fourth consecutive one.
Equity compensation is its own conversation. Restricted stock that vests on a schedule is income with a history requirement and a continuance question attached, and the number a lender uses is rarely the number on the offer letter.
Plan the file around the durable parts of the second income rather than the headline total, and you will not have to resize the search in week three.
The co-borrower rule that catches people
This one is specific and worth knowing before you decide who goes on the loan:
Non-occupant co-borrowers are eligible; however, non-occupant contributing income must be less than or equal to 50% of total qualifying income.
So if a parent or a relative who will not live in the home is helping the file carry, their share is capped at half. Past that point the income simply does not count, however real it is.
For an occupying spouse this restriction does not apply, which is the usual Chandler case. But it matters for the less usual ones, and it is the kind of rule that is cheap to check and expensive to discover.
The threshold that actually decides your price range
Chandler spans a wide band, from established central neighborhoods to the newer south and the Ocotillo area with its golf-community associations.
Which means the 720 line is a live question here in a way it is not in Mesa. At 680 you reach 100% financing to $1,500,000. At 720 you reach $2,000,000. Forty points of score, five hundred thousand dollars of loan amount.
If you are in the 690s and shopping the upper end of Chandler, working the score is the highest-return preparation available to you. Credit score refreshes are expressly permitted provided the file documents the change and still meets the program's asset requirements.
And a rule that catches dual-income households more than most: if the credit report shows inquiries within the most recent 90 days, each one has to be explained, and any credit you actually opened must be verified and included in your ratio. Two people furnishing a house, financing a car and opening a store card between application and closing is a common way to lose an approval that was already granted.
Dues, and the Ocotillo question
Association dues sit in PITIA and push against the ratio ceiling of 50% at 95% loan-to-value or below and 45% above 95%.
In the golf-community parts of Chandler those dues can be substantial, and a club membership is a separate obligation with its own treatment. Get the real monthly number, including any current special assessment, before you decide what you can carry.
When conventional is the better loan
This is the honest part, and it matters more in Chandler than in the other East Valley cities.
A dual-income household with an engineer's salary, documented equity and money from a previous sale is frequently a conventional borrower, not a physician-program borrower. Three reasons:
The floor. The program notes set a minimum loan-to-value of 90.01%. If you are putting twenty percent down, you are not eligible for the physician program at all.
The mortgage insurance argument is time-limited. On conventional financing, borrower-paid mortgage insurance on a primary residence must be cancelled automatically once the balance reaches 78% of original value under the federal Homeowners Protection Act, and can be requested at 80%. It is a real cost and it is not permanent.
Price. These are manually underwritten niche programs with no agency guarantee and they price accordingly. Where conventional works, it frequently costs less.
Ask for both, priced on the same day, over the three to seven years you will actually hold the loan rather than over thirty. Any lender who will not produce that comparison is showing you the product they would rather write.
The order to run it
- Break the second income into salary, bonus and equity, and find out what each one needs.
- Decide who is on the loan, and check the non-occupant cap if anyone who will not live there is helping.
- Pull all three scores and find out which side of 720 you are on.
- Get the real HOA number for the specific community.
- Price the physician program and conventional side by side before choosing.
Common questions
Can my spouse's income count on a physician loan? An occupying co-borrower's income counts normally. A non-occupant co-borrower is eligible, but their contributing income must be 50% or less of total qualifying income.
How is my spouse's RSU income treated? Equity compensation carries its own history and continuance requirements, and the figure a lender uses is usually not the headline number on the offer letter. Build the file on the durable part.
What credit score do I need for the upper end of Chandler? 680 reaches 100% financing to $1,500,000. 720 reaches $2,000,000. If you are shopping above the lower ceiling, that forty point gap is worth working before you apply.
We have twenty percent to put down. Is a physician loan still best? You would not be eligible. Minimum loan-to-value is 90.01%, so a large down payment puts you below the program floor and conventional financing is the comparison to run.
Can we buy furniture and a car before closing? Not without risking the approval. Inquiries in the last 90 days must be explained and any new credit is verified and added to your debt-to-income ratio.
Related reading
- Physician and medical professional home loans, the full index for this topic
- Physician Home Loans in Gilbert: New Construction, HOA Dues and the Contract Clock
- Physician Loan Credit Scores: What 680, 700 and 720 Each Unlock
- Physician Loan or Conventional: Which One Is Actually Cheaper on Your File
Why bring this file to us
- We build the second income properly. Salary, bonus and equity are underwritten differently, and assuming they all count the same is how Chandler files get resized late.
- We know the co-borrower rules. Who occupies the home changes how much of a second income can be used at all.
- We price it against conventional honestly, because a strong dual-income Chandler file is frequently better off outside the physician program.
- Broker model. Multiple investors rather than one bank's shelf, which is what a file like this needs when the first answer is no.
- You talk to the principal. Ricky Khamis is President of EPiQ Lending and a Certified Mortgage Planner, NMLS #173141, originating mortgages since 1999. Direct line: (480) 999-9842.
EPiQ Lending is NMLS #1936984, at 7975 N. Hayden Road, Suite A-101 in Scottsdale. Verify all of it before you trust any of it: Ricky's EPiQ Lending profile, the Scottsdale branch, and the license itself at NMLS Consumer Access. Hold every lender to that standard, including us.
Send me both incomes and how the second one is paid. Salary, bonus and equity are three different documents and only one of them is simple.
Program figures in this post come from the CMG Financial (NMLS #1820) guideline set named above, as published on the revision date given. CMG Financial is the parent company of EPiQ Lending. These figures describe one investor's program at one point in time. Other investors price and underwrite the same borrower differently, guidelines change without notice, and nothing here is an offer of any specific program or terms. Confirm current eligibility on your own file before you plan around any of it.
Equal Housing Opportunity. This is general information, not a commitment to lend or an offer to extend credit. Rates, terms, and program guidelines change and depend on credit approval, property appraisal, income and asset verification, and other qualifying factors. Not all applicants will qualify. Non-QM, asset-based and business purpose financing carry different pricing, terms and consumer protections than agency financing. Consult your tax advisor regarding the tax treatment of any income or distribution strategy.
Find out what you qualify for before you start looking
Tell me where you are in training or practice and I will tell you which structure fits your file, what it needs, and what it does not. No credit pull to have the conversation.
