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Jeff Ostrowski covers mortgages and the housing market. Before joining Bankrate in 2020, he spent more than 20 years writing about real estate, business, the economy and politics.
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Suzanne De Vita is a senior editor on Bankrate’s Home Lending team, focusing on mortgage and real estate topics for homebuyers, homeowners, investors and renters.
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Home values have soared in The Sunshine State since the pandemic, and that’s creating challenges for buyers in Florida. Fortunately, there are a number of first-time homebuyer loans and programs to help. The Florida Housing Finance Corp., known simply as Florida Housing, offers several down payment and closing cost assistance programs to help you buy your first home. These are available to first-time buyers or anyone who hasn’t owned and occupied a home in three years. Active military members, qualified veterans and anyone purchasing in a federally designated targeted area might also be eligible.
Florida Housing’s loan programs are all 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages. Here’s an overview:
Florida Housing helps connect first-time homebuyers to several mortgage programs, including HFA conventional loans and FHA, VA and USDA loans. The loans can usually be combined with down payment and closing cost assistance. To qualify, you must have a credit score of at least 640 and an income no greater than the limit for your area, as well as complete a homebuyer education course and buy a home within the program’s purchase price limits.
The Florida Hometown Heroes Housing Program aims to make homeownership affordable for law enforcement officers, firefighters, educators, healthcare professionals, childcare employees and other frontline workers. The program provides down payment and closing cost assistance so that these professionals can buy a home in the community where they work. Among the benefits:
Through Florida Housing, eligible borrowers could receive up to $10,000 for a down payment or closing costs, at no interest, in a deferred second mortgage. This second mortgage would be repaid when you sell the home or move, or refinance your first mortgage.
This program provides qualified borrowers with 3, 4 or 5 percent of the home’s purchase price to use toward the down payment and closing costs. This assistance is forgiven after five years.
This program gives buyers up to $10,000 in assistance as a second mortgage at 3 percent interest. The mortgage must be paid off over 15 years unless you move, refinance, sell or transfer ownership of the property. In those cases, the balance must be paid in full.
Note: These programs must be used with a Florida Housing loan program.While you’re considering first-time homebuyer programs in Florida, be sure to explore nationally available programs like:
As you prepare to become a first-time homebuyer, here are some next steps:
Arrow Right Principal writer, Home Lending
Jeff Ostrowski covers mortgages and the housing market. Before joining Bankrate in 2020, he spent more than 20 years writing about real estate, business, the economy and politics.
