Well, I don't have any financial advice regarding whether or not it's a good idea to buy a house right now or not. Also can't comment on maintaining a household during medical school. I can give you just a few pointers on buying your first house as I just bought mine a tad shy of a year ago.
1.) Get a good real estate agent. I went with one 4 of my coworkers had used and highly recommended. He was great at pointing things out with houses I wouldn't have thought of. He knew the city well. He's been available to help with questions that have come up well after the purchase.
2.) Even with the economy the way it is, banks will still offer you more money for your mortgage loan than you have any business taking. Budget wisely, go well below what they say you can have. Also get a pre-approval in writing before you go making an offer anywhere as it tells the seller you look like a better buyer to deal with than someone who just thinks they can get the loan.
3.) Get an inspection from a solid inspector. Don't skip this step.
4.) If find a place you like and decide to buy it, make sure you check it out a few days before closing to make sure the sellers have done things like clean it, not trashed it, etc since you last looked at it. It was in my contract for them to clean the place, remove pet waste from the yard, etc. When I came there were burned fries in oven, milkshake spilled on the fridge, junk piled in the garage, and I don't think they so much as vacuumed, and the paint on the walls had been scraped and gouged when they moved furniture out. Also found a storage area with a ton of mouse droppings that had been hidden during inspection. They'd claimed no pest issues and the contract.
Personally in the future I'd request they have the house professionally cleaned and carpet shampooed and provide receipts before closing. That might be overkill but it gaurantees it's closer to your definition of what clean might be. If there are problems, take pictures, document, and act on it right away.
5.) Plan to spend quite a bit more money getting settled than you might initially think. General maintenance stuff and things like shovels, a ladder, lawn mower, and other stuff you might need can really add up. It is a bit more work and time keep up with a house than an apartment.
6.) I haven't heard about loans specific for medical students, but I have heard about physician and resident loans because they can have a hard time qualifying for a mortgage with their debt load. I've heard those physician loans have low interest rates, but can have very high fees. My thought is look around, check on fees , read the fine print, and see what others in your area have gone with.
My two cents.
That said, I absolutely love my house and am very glad I made the purchase
No noisey neighbors, awesome backyard with a volleyball net and a fire pit.....
