Resident or fellow
You earn a training salary. The right lender reads your future one.
A bank sees a two-year average of stipend income and stops there. Physician programs read the contract you already signed — and the gap between those two readings is the whole ballgame.
The underwriting problem
Your income today isn't the income that will pay this mortgage, and a standard application has no field for that. Projected-income programs let a lender qualify you on a published figure for your stage instead of your current pay — and separately, they decide how much of your professional line of credit to count against you, which can swing the answer by hundreds of thousands.
Run this first
The affordability calculator has a resident mode: pick your lender, your residency year, and add your line of credit — it shows the maximum price, the insurance premium, and which limit is actually binding you.
Three lenders that fit this stage
| Lender | Min down | Why it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Scotiabank | 10% | Qualifies on your signed contract; counts a line of credit held elsewhere on balance, not limit |
| Manulife Bank | 10% | Down payment may be gifted or borrowed; its projected-income table runs higher |
| MCAP | 10% | Standard-premium grid — the cheaper insurance — but won't take a borrowed down payment |
Figures verified from lender factsheets, current as of July 2026 — programs change, and not every lender lends in every province.
What you'll be asked for
For a projected-income file, usually: confirmation of your residency or fellowship enrolment, or your signed employment/associate contract with specialty and start date; proof of licensure or College registration; recent Notices of Assessment plus a current income document; your down-payment source with about 90 days of history (a gift letter if any of it is gifted); and your line-of-credit and other debt details. Ramin sends a tailored checklist once your lender is chosen.