A mortgage guide for physicians, specialists, nurses and other healthcare professionals moving to Jacksonville for a new job.

Quick answer: Often, yes. Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide (B3-3.3-03, Employment Offers or Contracts) lets a lender qualify you on the salary in your accepted offer letter, in some cases before you receive a single paycheck. Your start date can be up to 90 days after closing. It applies to a one-unit primary residence purchase, uses fixed base pay only, and requires extra cash reserves. Available for qualified borrowers; program guidelines apply.

Congratulations on the new position. If you’ve accepted a role at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, you’re juggling a lot: credentialing, moving your family, and learning a new city. One question comes up on almost every call I get from relocating medical professionals:

“Can I buy a house with my offer letter, before I’ve started the job?”

For many buyers the answer is yes. That means you may be able to close on your home and move straight in, instead of renting for months while you wait to build up paystubs.

Can You Get a Mortgage With a Mayo Clinic Offer Letter?

Fannie Mae’s guidelines allow a lender to use the income in a fully executed, non-contingent employment offer or contract as qualifying income. The rule isn’t specific to any employer. It works the same for Mayo Clinic, Baptist Health, UF Health, Ascension St. Vincent’s, or any other new job, as long as the requirements are met.

A hypothetical example:

  • Your annual base salary will be $240,000.
  • Your start date is December 1.
  • You’ve found a home and want to close in mid-November.
  • You have a signed, accepted offer showing your salary and start date.

$240,000 a year is $20,000 a month in gross income. Under the right conventional guidelines, the lender may use that $20,000 to qualify you, if every other requirement is met. This is an illustration only, not a loan approval.

The Two Ways Fannie Mae Handles a New Job

Option 1: You’ll have a paystub before the loan is delivered

The lender gets your offer letter and, before delivering the loan to Fannie Mae, your first paystub from the new job. The paystub has to support the income in the offer. A verbal verification of employment is also required. This fits when you’ll start work soon after closing.

Option 2: You close before your first paystub

This is the one that matters most for people relocating. You can qualify on the accepted offer with no paystub from the new job. The rules are stricter:

  1. Purchase of a one-unit primary residence. Not a second home, an investment property, or a refinance.
  2. A fully executed offer or contract. It must name you and the employer, your position, your type and rate of pay, and your start date. Your acceptance has to be documented, such as a signed offer or a confirming email.
  3. No unmet conditions at closing. If your offer depends on a background check, licensing, credentialing, a drug screen or a health screening, the lender must confirm those are cleared before closing. For physicians, credentialing is usually the item to watch.
  4. Start date timing. Your start date can be no earlier than 30 days before your note date and no later than 90 days after it.
  5. Fixed base pay only. Only your base salary counts. Expected bonuses, RVU or productivity pay, call pay and other variable income don’t count for this option.
  6. Not employed by family or an interested party. Your new employer can’t be a relative or anyone with an interest in the sale.
  7. Extra reserves. See the next section.

The Reserve Requirement Most People Miss

Closing before your first paystub means you need extra cash on hand, on top of any reserves the loan already requires. The lender must document one of these:

  • Six months of the new home’s principal, interest, taxes, insurance and association dues (PITIA), or
  • Enough money to cover all your monthly debts, including the new house payment, for every month between closing and your start date, plus one more month. A partial month counts as a full month.

Those resources can include savings, retirement funds and income you’re still earning now, such as pay from a current job or fellowship that continues until you move. In the example above, closing in mid-November with a December 1 start means one month in between, plus one, so you’d need two months of total monthly debt payments, or six months of the new house payment.

What About Physician Loans?

If you’re a physician, dentist or other eligible medical professional, a physician loan may be another route. Many of these programs also accept a signed employment contract, and some allow low down payments without private mortgage insurance. Each program sets its own rules for start dates, student loans and loan size, so we compare them side by side with the conventional option.

Nurses and other clinical staff: shift differentials, overtime and travel pay are counted differently. See mortgages for Jacksonville nurses and healthcare workers.

Where Mayo Clinic Employees Often Look

Mayo Clinic’s Jacksonville campus sits on the east side of town, between the Southside and the Beaches. Many new hires look at:

Many of these neighborhoods carry CDD fees, HOA dues and Florida insurance costs that change your payment, and your approval amount. Before you write an offer, read how CDD fees affect your mortgage payment and what really changes in your monthly budget.

Your Relocation Checklist

  1. Get your fully signed offer letter or contract, with salary, position and start date.
  2. Ask HR which conditions are still open (credentialing, licensing, screenings) and when they’ll clear.
  3. Gather proof of savings and retirement accounts for the reserve requirement.
  4. Get pre-approved before you house-hunt, so your Realtor knows your real number.
  5. Line up your closing date with your start date, inside the 30-day / 90-day window.
  6. If you own a home where you live now, see how to buy here before you sell there.

For the full picture of relocating, including insurance, taxes and closing remotely, start with our Moving to Northeast Florida mortgage guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I close on a house before I start my new job?

Often, yes. Under Fannie Mae’s guidelines, your start date can be up to 90 days after closing if you’re buying a one-unit primary residence, qualifying on fixed base pay, and have the extra reserves. Lender overlays may be stricter.

Does my offer letter have to be signed?

Yes. The lender needs a fully executed offer or contract and proof that you accepted it, such as your signature or a confirming email.

Can my signing bonus or relocation package count as income?

Not as qualifying income when you close before your first paystub. That option uses fixed base salary only. Relocation money you’ve already received may help with cash to close or reserves, depending on how it’s paid and documented.

What if my credentialing isn’t finished before closing?

Every condition of employment must be cleared before closing. If credentialing or licensing is still pending, plan your closing date around it, or look at the option where you close after your first paystub.

Does this only apply to Mayo Clinic employees?

No. These are general Fannie Mae guidelines that apply to any qualifying new job, at any employer.

Let’s Line Up Your Move

Send me your offer letter and your target closing date. I’ll tell you which option fits, how much you’ll need in reserves, and which lenders will work with your timeline. Call or text 904-880-6741 or request a quick rate quote.

North Star Mortgage Network, Inc. is an independent mortgage broker and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic is mentioned only to identify the employer. Guidelines cited are from the Fannie Mae Selling Guide, B3-3.3-03, as of October 2026. Fannie Mae guidelines may change, and lender overlays may be stricter. Examples are hypothetical and are estimates based on the information provided, not a loan approval.

Nathan Young, NMLS #325206 | North Star Mortgage Network, Inc., NMLS #356789 | 12058 San Jose Blvd, Suite 404, Jacksonville, FL 32223 | 904-880-6741. Available for qualified borrowers; program guidelines apply. Rates and terms are subject to change. All loans are subject to credit approval. Equal Housing Opportunity.

Posted in blog, Mortgage Types