As physicians—especially first-generation ones—we are high earners on paper but late starters financially. While our peers spent their twenties building equity, we spent ours accumulating six-figure debt. Banks see the loans and label us a "risk," but they miss the underwriting gold: the decade of discipline it took to get here. Here is what I’ve painstakingly learned as an NYC first-time homebuyer—from physician mortgage secrets to co-op hurdles—so you don't have to feel the