_edited.png)
Can Travel Nurses Buy a House? What No One Tells You About Getting a Mortgage
- noordinarypath
- Apr 13
- 8 min read
By Kristin Farnsworth | No Ordinary Path
After 4 years on the road as a travel nurse, we were able to qualify to buy a home.
Buying a house as a travel nurse is absolutely possible... but it is not simple. And if you go in unprepared, it can be one of the most frustrating experiences of your travel healthcare career.
John and I lived this. We spent years on the road full-time in our 44-foot toy hauler, traveled to 47 states, and eventually decided we wanted to put down roots in Phoenix, Arizona - without giving up travel nursing. What we ran into when we tried to get a mortgage was something I had heard whispers about but didn't fully understand until we were standing right in the middle of it.
This is the real talk version. No fluff. Just what actually happens when you try to buy a house while half your income is tax-free stipends.
🎥 Watch the full video breakdown here: Can Travel Nurses Buy a House?
Why Getting a Mortgage Is So Hard for Travel Nurses
Here's the core problem: travel nurse pay is structured in a way that makes you look like you earn less than you actually do on paper.
A typical travel nurse compensation package breaks down into two parts:
Taxable base hourly wage — this is what shows up on your W-2 and what most lenders focus on
Non-taxed stipends — housing, meals, and incidentals — which can make up 50–70% of your total take-home pay
Those stipends are not considered "income" in the traditional mortgage sense. So when a lender pulls your W-2, they see a number that might be a fraction of what you actually deposited into your bank account that year. That's the double-edged sword: you're making great money, but your tax documents don't tell that story.
This is not a new problem. Travel nurses who have been doing this for years run into it. And it catches people off guard, especially if they're planning to buy after a few years on the road.
What Documents Lenders Will Ask For
When we went through this process, we talked to six different lenders before finding one that worked for us (we've since heard from nurses who needed eight or more). Here's what almost every lender asked for even if they handled it differently:
W-2s from every agency you've worked with If you've worked with multiple agencies in a year, you'll have multiple W-2s. This can get complicated fast, and some lenders have never seen a travel nurse with three or four W-2s from different staffing companies for the same year.
Year-end pay stubs Some lenders wanted these going back two or three years. If you haven't been keeping them, start now.
Your current nursing contract One thing that tripped us up: Atlas titled our paperwork a "Work Order" rather than a "Contract." One underwriter refused to count it. Same document. Different label. Make sure you know what your agency calls it, and if needed, ask them to clarify in writing that it is your employment contract.
Employment verification letter from your agency (not the hospital) This is a big one that confuses people. Your employer is the staffing agency, not the hospital you're working at. Your verification letter needs to come from Atlas, AMN, Cross Country, Avel, or whoever you're contracted with — not from the facility. Atlas wrote a letter for us that stated how long John had worked with them, his hourly rate, his expected hours per week, and that he was in good standing and expected to continue. Some lenders accepted that alone.
The Stipend Calculation Problem
This is where things got really frustrating for us.
When we called lenders and asked "have you worked with travel nurses before?" nearly every single one said yes. And then when we sent our documents, it became clear they had no idea how to calculate our actual income. They would come back and say something like, "your income looks low for the loan amount you're requesting."
That's because they were only counting the taxable base wage.
We had to literally circle numbers on PDF pay stubs and walk them through: this is my housing stipend, this is my per diem, this is how you add it back in to see my true gross income.
And here's the wild part: different lenders counted different things.
Some lenders would count housing AND per diems
Some would count per diems but not housing ("because housing is a reimbursement expense")
Some said the exact opposite
Some wouldn't count any of it
There is no standardized way mortgage lenders handle travel nurse stipends. That's the truth. Your job is to find one who will work with you.
Manual Underwriting: What to Expect
Every lender we spoke with said the same thing: travel nurse loans will always require manual underwriting. There is no automated approval process for this type of income structure.
What that means practically: a real human being at an underwriting desk is going to review your file and make a judgment call. That's actually a good thing if you're prepared, because it means you can advocate for yourself and explain your income clearly.
One important tip John shares in the video: push for pre-underwriting, not just a pre-approval letter. Pre-approval letters are easy to get and basically meaningless — especially in states like Arizona where lenders can issue one based on stated income alone. That is not what you want. You want an underwriter to actually look at your file before you fall in love with a house and write a contract. Ask your loan officer to take your file to underwriting early in the process.
Tips That Actually Helped Us (and Other Travel Nurses)
Talk to a lot of lenders. Seriously. Not two. Not three. We talked to six and heard from others who needed eight or ten. Make your list of at least ten and contact them all within a 42–45 day window so the hard credit pulls only count once.
Try a brokerage that works with multiple lenders. One of the companies we found most helpful was a brokerage firm. They automatically counted a portion of the stipends without us having to fight for it, because they had experience with travel healthcare workers.
Consider a credit union. We didn't try this personally, but it came up repeatedly in travel nursing forums. Credit unions may be more flexible and willing to work through the complexity.
Use a lender you already have a relationship with. If you've had a car loan, personal loan, or any other product with a bank or credit union, start there. Existing relationships can smooth the process.
Build your "lender packet" early. Create one folder, physical or digital, with everything you'll need: W-2s for 2+ years, year-end pay stubs, current contract, employment verification letter, bank statements. After your first two or three lender conversations, you'll know exactly what they all ask for. Have it ready to send in one shot.
Consider taking a taxed contract before applying. If you know you're going to apply for a significant loan within the next year, taking one or two fully taxed contracts (where your income shows up higher on your W-2) can make the process easier. Your true hourly rate gets reflected in your tax documents instead of being split into stipends.
Apply while you're on a higher-paying contract. Your employment verification letter is based on your current contract rate. Applying while you're on a strong-paying contract gives lenders a higher income number to work with.
What We'd Tell Our Past Selves
If we could go back to when we sold our house and hit the road, we'd say this: keep the house if you can. Even knowing what we know now, that wasn't possible for us. We needed the equity to buy travel trailer and start the RV chapter. No regrets. But if you're in a position to hold onto your home while starting travel nursing, do it. Getting back into homeownership later is a real process.
And if you're in that process right now, talking to lenders, feeling like the walls are closing in, getting told your income "doesn't count" keep going. It can be done. We did it. Plenty of nurses before us did it. You just have to find the right lender, come in prepared, and not let the first four rejections stop you.
Comparison: What Different Lender Types May Accept
Feature | Traditional Bank | Credit Union | Mortgage Broker |
Travel nurse experience | Varies widely | Often more flexible | Depends on broker |
Manual underwriting | Required | Required | Required |
Stipend counting | Usually limited | Sometimes more flexible | Broker-dependent |
Relationship advantage | ✅ If existing customer | ✅ If member | ❌ |
Access to multiple programs | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
Best for | Nurses with existing relationships | Nurses open to new membership | Nurses starting fresh |
Frequently Asked Questions: Travel Nurses and Home Buying
Can a travel nurse qualify for a mortgage? Yes. But it requires manual underwriting and finding a lender who understands how travel nurse pay is structured. Stipends complicate the income picture, and not all lenders know how to work with them.
Do travel nurse stipends count as income for a mortgage? It depends on the lender. Some count housing stipends, some count per diems, and some won't count any of it. There is no standard. Your job is to find a lender who will work with your full income picture.
What documents does a travel nurse need to apply for a mortgage? W-2s from all agencies (typically 2 years), year-end pay stubs, your current nursing contract, and an employment verification letter from your staffing agency. Create a packet and have it ready to send to multiple lenders.
How many lenders should a travel nurse talk to? As many as it takes. John and I went through six. We've heard of nurses needing eight or more. Contact at least ten within a 42–45 day window to limit the credit impact of multiple hard pulls.
Should I use a mortgage broker as a travel nurse? It can be a strong option. Brokers who work with multiple lenders may already have relationships with underwriters who understand travel healthcare income and are willing to count stipends.
Can I buy a house while on a travel nursing contract? Yes, and it may actually help your case. Applying while actively on contract — especially a higher-paying one — gives lenders a current income snapshot through your employment verification letter.
Need Help Finding Your Next Contract?
If you're still building your travel nurse career and looking for an experienced recruiter who actually gets this lifestyle. I'm a travel healthcare recruiter at Atlas MedStaff, and I'd love to help you find your next contract.
More importantly, as a travel nurse family ourselves, I can help you think through the financial strategy around your contracts, including things like when to take taxed contracts, how to structure your income if a big purchase is on the horizon, and which markets are paying well right now.
📩 Connect with me here or reach out directly through NOP — I'm happy to have that conversation.
Kristin Farnsworth is a travel healthcare recruiter at Atlas MedStaff and co-founder of No Ordinary Path. She and her husband John , an ICU travel nurse, spent 7 years living full-time on the road in their RV with their three kids, visiting 47 states before settling in Phoenix, Arizona. NOP exists to give travel nurses and travel families honest, experience-backed information they can actually use.
Comments