The complete guide to Florida homebuyer assistance programs: Loans, grants & down payment help
Fortunately, the state offers several homebuying programs that can help you secure a mortgage or even find down payment assistance in Florida. The Florida Housing Finance Corporation is a state-created housing agency that provides these types of resources and support for buyers, as well as assistance for renters, developers, current homeowners and property owners.
Perhaps the corporation's most useful tool? The Homebuyer Loan Programs Wizard, a portal that will help you find a certified real estate agent or a Florida Housing-approved lender near you. These professionals will get you pre-approved for a loan and help find the right place for you.
Here's a look at the Florida homebuyer programs that might be the right fit for you and your family.
Types of Home Loans
Before you dive into the programs, you should consider your lending options. There are two broad types of home loans: government loans and conventional loans.
Government loans are backed by a government agency, though the money is actually supplied by private lenders. These loans include FHA loans (ideal for buyers with low to moderate credit scores or those seeking a smaller down payment), VA loans for service members, veterans and families, and USDA loans for rural areas.
A conventional loan, meanwhile, is not part of any government program. These can be more difficult to secure than an FHA loan and are generally split into conforming and non-conforming loans. The federal government cautions borrowers to be wary and do their research before using non-conforming loans, which are not as standardized as conforming or government loans. Jumbo (large) loans are one common non-conforming category.
Florida Loans and Homebuying Programs
The state of Florida and the federal government offer several loan and mortgage programs that might be helpful in your buying journey.
Florida Housing Homebuyer Program: This first-time homebuyer program features 30-year fixed-rate FHA, FHA 203k, VA, USDA, or Conventional mortgage loans through the Florida Housing Finance Corporation. Applicants must meet the IRS' definition of a first-time homebuyer — no ownership in the past three years — and meet the designated financial requirements. Program borrowers are also eligible to participate in one of the down payment/closing cost assistance programs listed here, and can review eligible property types here.
Single Family Housing Direct Home Loans: These federally regulated loans help low-income and very low-income applicants who are unable to obtain loans elsewhere to buy, build or improve a rural home. The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture's website can help you determine whether you qualify for the program and whether a prospective home qualifies as 'rural.' You can also direct further questions to Florida's Rural Development State Office.
Down Payment and Loan Assistance
These Florida Housing Finance Corporation homebuyer programs can assist with second mortgages for in-state homebuyers to finance closing costs and down payments.
Hometown Heroes Loan Program: This state program offers competitive interest rates and down payment assistance for eligible government or conventional loan applicants. Eligible borrowers must be a first-time buyer, have a minimum 640 credit score, work full-time in an eligible Florida occupation (not necessarily in the same city where you're buying) and must fall within the program's county-specific income limits. Although, be aware that meeting all of these criteria doesn't necessarily guarantee you'll secure Hometown Heroes assistance. This program is structured as a non-forgivable second mortgage, though no monthly payments are required.
Florida Assist (FL Assist): This non-forgivable loan offers up to $10,000 for FHA, VA, USDA and Conventional Loans with a 0%, non-amortizing, deferred second mortgage. There are no monthly payments since repayment is deferred until you sell, transfer or satisfy your first mortgage, refinance, or stop living at the property.
Florida Homeownership Loan Program (FL HLP) Second Mortgage: This program provides $10,000 for a down payment or closing costs with a 3%, 15-year, fully amortizing second mortgage. FL HLP does require a monthly payment, with the remaining balance due in full on sale, deed transfer, first mortgage satisfaction, refinancing, or leaving the property.
HFA Preferred PLUS and HFA Advantage PLUS Second Mortgage: Available only with HFA Preferred (Fannie Mae) or HFA Advantage (Freddie Mac) TBA (to be announced) first-mortgage products. Borrowers who use this program can receive 3-5% of their total loan in a forgivable second mortgage available to cover down payment and closing costs. This second mortgage is forgiven in increments of 20% per year over a five-year term.
Ready to take the leap into Florida homeownership? Use the Florida Housing Finance Corporation's resources to find the right Florida homebuyer program for you.
*Program terms are subject to change; confirm details with a licensed lender.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
If Wealth Was Distributed Equally in America, Could Everyone Afford a $1 Million House?
A recent article on GOBankingRates reported that the household wealth of Americans was at $160.35 trillion, based on data compiled by the Federal Reserve. If this amount were distributed evenly, then everyone would have about $471,465 or $942,930 per couple, since there are roughly 340.11 million people. Trending Now: For You: A couple with two kids would have a combined household worth of $1.89 million. With housing prices skyrocketing in the last few years, it's worth discussing whether homes would be more affordable if the wealth were distributed equally. We will review if everyone had the same amount of wealth, if they could all afford to buy and maintain a million-dollar house. According to the National Association of Realtors, the median down payment for first-time homebuyers in 2024 was just 9%, much below the standard rule of 20%. You can also apply for a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan, which requires a minimum down payment of only 3.5%. However, there's more to buying an expensive home than just the list price. The following are expenses you have to factor in: Closing costs. Property taxes. Average maintenance costs. Insurance. Data compiled by Clever Real Estate looked into the numbers behind purchasing a million-dollar home. The research found that if you want to qualify for a mortgage on a million-dollar listing, you'll likely need a 'jumbo loan' due to the amount that you're borrowing. You'll also need a significant amount of money in savings, as you'll likely have to make a 20% down payment ($200,000), and closing costs should be around $24,223. Explore More: These are the projected monthly payments on a million-dollar home with a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 6.99%, an annual homeowners insurance policy that's 0.5% of the property value, annual property taxes of 1.1% of the home's value, and $500 in monthly HOA fees. Mortgage payment: $5,317 Insurance: $417 Property taxes: $917 HOA fees: $500 Monthly total: $7,151 It's worth pointing out that these figures assume a high credit score of over 700 and a 20% down payment. Numerous factors are considered when applying for a mortgage, like your debt and employment history. If wealth were distributed equally, would everyone be able to afford and maintain a million-dollar property? The data compiled by Clever found that you'll need a minimum annual income of $306,471 to maintain a million-dollar home. Another piece on Fortune found that someone with a $250,000 yearly salary could likely afford a million-dollar home. With a monthly gross income of $20,833, this person should ensure that their housing expenses align with the 28% rule, which dictates that they shouldn't exceed 28% of their monthly income. Since we don't have information available about everyone's income, we will use the available numbers and assume that the person is relying on their newfound net worth. A single person with $471,465 would put down the $224,223 to cover the down payment and closing costs. This would leave them with $247,242, and they would have enough money to cover the monthly expenses of $7,151 for about 35 months. After a couple with $942,930 spends the $224,223 on acquiring the property, they'll be left with $718,707, which would be enough to cover the monthly expenses for 100.5 months. Families with $1.89 million would have $1,665,777 left after moving in. This would be enough to cover the monthly expenses for 233 months. While these numbers don't factor in the person's current income, it helps to know how long someone could maintain a million-dollar property. If the wealth was spread evenly and nobody sold off any real estate to make it happen, here's a look at some of the current numbers. A report from Redfin found that 8.5% of U.S. homes in June 2024 were worth $1 million or more, marking the highest share of homes with this value. This translates to 8,022,439 homes, which would not be enough inventory. The May housing report from shared that the number of actively listed homes reached one million for the first time since the winter of 2019. 'A million-dollar home in one place can be much different than another place, and the general cost of living can vary significantly, too,' said Adam Hamilton, a real estate expert and CEO of REI Hub. 'Property taxes, insurance costs and even maintenance costs can be way higher or lower depending on where you live.' He continued, 'So, even if wealth was distributed equally, certain people may end up spending way more money on housing costs over time than others, depending on where they live.' The reality of the situation is that there isn't enough inventory for everyone to purchase a million-dollar home if wealth were distributed evenly. However, many people would finally be able to buy a home or enter the real estate market. According to recently gathered data from the median home sales price in the U.S. as of the first quarter of 2025 was $503,800, and the average home sales price is $503,800. More From GOBankingRates How Much Money Is Needed To Be Considered Middle Class in Your State? This article originally appeared on If Wealth Was Distributed Equally in America, Could Everyone Afford a $1 Million House? Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
New York Post
10 hours ago
- New York Post
Gen Z turns to ‘old-school' money hack to curb spending: ‘Helps create awareness'
Cold hard cash is making a comeback — at least on weekends. Swipe, sip, splurge, repeat — that's the usual weekend drill for many debit-card-happy spenders. One latte turns into a shopping spree, a boozy brunch and suddenly your bank account's begging for mercy. Advertisement Enter the latest TikTok-approved money hack: the 'cash-only weekend.' The idea? Hit the ATM on Friday, pull out a set amount of cash, and make it stretch through Sunday. @ how using cash has helped me grow my savings 💰💵💸 granted, this might not apply to everyone and all of our financial situations are different but this is what has helped me this year and I wanted to share! it has truly changed EVERYTHING when it comes to my money and in my opinion we SHOULD be purchasing conciously!!!! if you have any tips feel free to leave them in the comments 🖤🧚🥰 #cashisking #savingmoney #moneytips #cash #financialliteracy ♬ original sound – Alright Hey 🇦🇺🍉 No cards. No Apple Pay. No exceptions. When the cash runs out, so does the fun. Advertisement With tap-to-pay making it way too easy to blow through your budget, this analog approach is catching on fast. As Nadia Vanderhall, a financial planner and founder of The Brands and Bands, told Bustle in a recent interview, 'Most people are used to tapping with Apple Pay or Google Pay — you're not even pulling out your wallet anymore.' She continued, 'You just tap and keep it moving. But that's the issue: when the money leaves that fast, you're not tracking what you're truly spending.' 3 Cash is king again — at least 'til Monday. For weekend warriors with swipe-happy fingers, it's all too easy: one latte, one brunch, one 'treat yourself' spree — and boom, your bank account's in cardiac arrest. Syda Productions – Advertisement This old-school hack isn't just about saving bucks — she explained — it's about spending with purpose. A 'cash-only' weekend doesn't just curb your impulse buys — it forces you to slow your roll and put some thought behind every dollar that leaves your wallet. 'You decide how much you want to spend for the weekend, pull that amount in cash on Friday, and that's all you allow yourself to use through Sunday,' she added. When you're forking over cold, hard cash and watching it vanish faster than your willpower at a sample sale, you're way less likely to blow your budget on impulse buys. Advertisement The paper-in-hand panic? That's the point — it forces you to think twice before splurging on that extra oat milk latte or random checkout-line trinket. Vanderhall stressed, 'If you swipe without thinking or tend to overspend on food, convenience, or random little things, this can help create real awareness.' 3 'You decide how much you want to spend for the weekend, pull that amount in cash on Friday, and that's all you allow yourself to use through Sunday,' she added. .tiktok/@yellerwelle If you want to give a 'cash-only' weekend a whirl, first, check your bank balance, eyeball your plans — birthdays, brunches, booze runs — then hit the ATM and take out just enough to cover it all without raiding your savings or skipping the rent. Stash the cash in an envelope and swear off your swipe — though Vanderhall says it's smart to keep a backup card buried so deep in your bag you'll need a search party to find it. As previously reported by The Post, Gen Z-ers are also trying the 'treat yourself tax' hack and '1% rule' to save money and prevent overspending. Earlier this spring, the 'treat yourself tax' hack had spenders doing double takes — one at the price tag, and one at their savings app. The rule? For every impulse buy — whether it's a $7 iced coffee, a $30 plumping gloss, or a $250 'emotional support' purse — you match it with a deposit into savings. Advertisement 3 This old-school money hack is making a comeback. Pixel-Shot – Splurge now, save now. Guilt optional. As for the '1% rule,' over the past few months, this has been making waves with wallet-watchers — and it's so simple even your shopaholic BFF could pull it off. Advertisement Thinking about blowing big bucks on front-row concert seats, a bougie espresso machine, or a luxe weekend getaway? If the price tag is more than 1% of your annual income, pump the brakes. Make $50K? Anything over $500 means it's time for a 24-hour cooling-off period. Still craving it tomorrow? Fine. But if not, congrats — you just saved a chunk of change (and your credit score).
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Yahoo
Is Hims & Hers Stock in Trouble?
Hims & Hers Health and Novo Nordisk announced a partnership a few months ago, and it has already come to an end. Novo Nordisk is concerned about the telehealth company's practices, particularly relating to compounded drugs. 10 stocks we like better than Hims & Hers Health › Hims & Hers Health (NYSE: HIMS) is a telehealth company that offers personalized solutions for its customers. And demand has been robust, with subscriptions for its products rising significantly in recent years. While telehealth has for the most part not been a hot place to invest in, Hims & Hers Health has been the exception to that. Last year, its share price jumped by 172%. And this year, shares have already more than doubled in value (returns as of June 27). Recently, however, its share price took a hit amid some troubling news involving Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO), the healthcare company behind popular diabetes and weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. And it raised questions about Hims & Hers' business practices. Here's what you need to know about these recent developments and whether you should be thinking twice about buying Hims & Hers stock. In April, the two companies announced they would collaborate to make it easier for Americans to gain access to effective obesity treatments. Through the Hims & Hers platform, people would be able to obtain Wegovy for $599 per month. And it seemed as if it would be the start of a promising long-term partnership. Hims & Hers CEO Andrew Dudum said, "We share a vision of what consumer-centered healthcare looks like, and this is just the first step toward delivering that future." It sounded like a great way for Hims & Hers Health to bring popular drugs onto its platform. And for Novo Nordisk, it would be an opportune way to reach more customers. Less than two months later, the partnership is over. Novo Nordisk expressed concerns over Hims & Hers marketing practices, which it referred to as "deceptive" and that it "failed to adhere to the law which prohibits mass sales of compounded drugs." Hims & Hers specializes in selling compounded drugs, which are copies of FDA-approved drugs using adjusted (and unapproved) formulas. They are often made by foreign suppliers and occasionally contain active ingredients that may not be safe. Compounding is used for various appropriate reasons (like certain patients needing a modified version to account for a specific issue) as well as when a drug is in short supply. Among drugmakers, it is considered a controversial practice. Both Wegovy and Ozempic were OK'd for compounding for a time to deal with supply shortages, but that is no longer an issue. Hims & Hers is justifying the continued use of compounded drugs because it says it offers personalized compounded versions that it says are medically necessary. Novo Nordisk doesn't agree with this practice. Novo Nordisk may have expected that with the partnership, Hims & Hers wouldn't offer compounded versions of its drugs anymore and would instead simply offer the real drugs. Hims & Hers has been a growth beast over the years. It went from just $272 million in revenue in 2021 to $1.8 billion in sales over the trailing 12 months. It has also gone from being in the red financially to now generating significant profits; earnings over the past four quarters have totaled $164 million -- more than 9% of its top line. The business has evolved by offering a wider range of products to its customers, including obesity treatments. But in doing so, it has been pushing the envelope with compounded drugs, and the danger is that patients could experience side effects and consequences that may otherwise not happen with FDA-approved drugs. My concern is that the business could open itself up to potential legal issues down the road. It is winning over customers by offering low-cost, personalized solutions, but the way it's going about that could lead to significant risk in the future. Plus, if the company ends up having to stop selling compounded drugs, that could thwart its growth prospects. Hims & Hers has done incredibly well in recent years. But with question marks about its future growth, the potential legal risk ahead, and a high valuation (it trades at more than 70 times its trailing earnings), this isn't a stock I would rush to buy right now. Before you buy stock in Hims & Hers Health, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Hims & Hers Health wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $722,181!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $968,402!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,069% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 177% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 30, 2025 David Jagielski has positions in Novo Nordisk. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Hims & Hers Health. The Motley Fool recommends Novo Nordisk. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Is Hims & Hers Stock in Trouble? was originally published by The Motley Fool
