Many lenders maintain a professional list covering doctors, dentists, nurses, midwives, veterinarians, pharmacists and a range of allied health roles. Being on it can waive Lenders Mortgage Insurance to 90% of value, and a handful of lenders extend further for medical specialists.

On a $900,000 purchase at 90%, avoiding LMI is worth roughly $19,500. Most lenders apply a minimum income threshold, commonly around $90,000 gross, and require current AHPRA registration.

The lists differ between lenders more than people expect. A role covered by one lender is sometimes absent from another's policy entirely, so the waiver depends on which lender the application goes to rather than on your job title alone.

Cube Home Loans works from Loganholme, minutes from the Meadowbrook health precinct, and checks the waiver lists before lodging. Call 1800 774 756.

Consistent shift penalties, overtime and allowances are treated as assessable income by lenders who understand the sector, which for many healthcare workers is a substantial share of total earnings.

Employment type drives the outcome. Permanent staff with steady rosters are straightforward. Agency and casual workers generally need to show a settled pattern across a reasonable period before the variable component counts in full, and lenders average it rather than taking your best months.

The variation between lenders here is significant. Some count consistent penalties at full value, others discount them, and a few exclude certain allowances entirely. On a roster-heavy income that difference reshapes what you can borrow.

Salary packaging offered by public health employers adds another layer, since it changes taxable income and lenders treat it inconsistently. We work out which lender reads your payslip most favourably before applying.

Usually yes, though it needs disclosing and it reduces capacity. Lenders include the compulsory repayment as an ongoing commitment in serviceability, and the impact grows as income rises because the repayment rate steps up with it.

For healthcare workers a few years out of study, a remaining balance combined with a rising income is a common combination, and it is often the reason a borrowing figure comes back lower than expected.

Lenders vary in how conservatively they model it. Some use the actual repayment rate, others apply a heavier assumption, and the gap between those approaches can be material on a professional salary.

Paying a HECS balance down shortly before applying is sometimes worthwhile and sometimes not, depending on how close you are to clearing it. We run both scenarios before you commit funds either way.

Frequently, and it is one of the more useful features of the professional lists. Where a lender offers the waiver, it often applies to investment lending as well as owner-occupied, though terms are usually a little tighter and not every lender extends it.

That matters in Logan because entry prices in the established suburbs sit well below Brisbane while tenant demand across the LGA is consistent. A waiver applied to an investment purchase frees up deposit that would otherwise have gone to insurance.

Serviceability is still assessed on your income plus projected rent, discounted by the lender's margin, so the waiver helps with the deposit rather than the borrowing capacity.

Read our guide to the best suburbs for property investors in Logan, or see the investment loans page.