The Florida Hometown Heroes Housing Program was originally created in June 2022 to assist first-time homebuyers who are frontline workers, including occupations such as firefighters, educators, nurses and other healthcare professionals, law enforcement officers, and child care employees.

Veterans of the US Armed Services are also eligible, and are exempt from the first-time homebuyer and employment requirements.

AS OF JULY 1, 2024, TO BE ELIGIBLE: At least one owner-occupying applicant must be employed full-time by a Florida-based business. The business must have a headquarters or a brick & mortar location in Florida.

Work-from-home employees must report to or work out of a specific Florida location to qualify. Work-from-home employees must report to a specific location and the employer must confirm the location in writing.

Self-employed applicants must have third party confirmation of full-time status. The self-employed applicant’s CPA, bookkeeper or tax preparer must provide a letter confirming full-time work status.

No, there is no monthly payment for the down payment assistance.  The down payment assistance is a 0% interest, 30 year deferred second mortgage.

It must always be repaid in full when any of the following occur:

• The home is sold
• The home is refinanced
• The borrower moves to another home
• The original first mortgage comes to term

At no time is this loan forgiven.

You may receive down payment assistance equal to 5% of the new mortgage loan amount.  The maximum assistance you can receive ranges from $10,000 - $35,000.

Yes.  A cosigner can be used as long as the combined income between for all applicants does not exceed the total income limits for the program.

To find the income limits in your county, click here to access the Florida Hometown Heroes Income Limit Chart »

No, you may not receive any cash back. If there are unused funds from the down payment assistance, this amount can be applied towards principle reduction of the new loan up to maximum $2,000, or the loan can be reduced prior to closing.

Yes. All applicants must have a 640 middle FICO score to qualify for the program.  

If you are buying a manufactured home, you will need a 660 middle FICO score to qualify.

For Conventional, FHA and VA loans, the income is limited to the applicant's income, not household income.  Only people's income who are applying for or cosigning for the new mortgage loan count towards this limit.

• For full income limits by county, click here to access the Florida Hometown Heroes County Income Limits Chart »
• If you are applying for a USDA/ Rural Development Loan, click here to access the Florida Hometown Heroes USDA Income Limits Chart »

Yes. Although there is no monthly payment; the down payment assistance must always be paid in full whenever any of the following occur:

• The home is sold
• The first mortgage is refinanced
• If the homeowner moves to another home
• The first mortgage eventually comes to term

At no time is this loan forgiven.

Yes, the Florida Hometown Heroes Program has restrictions on the total combined income for all applicants, and the amount varies by county.  

• For a listing of income limits by county, click here to access the Florida Hometown Heroes County Income Limits Chart »
• If you are applying for a USDA/ Rural Development Loan, the total income limit is determined by the total income in the household. Click here to access the Florida Hometown Heroes USDA Income Limits Chart »

No. Under the Florida Hometown Heroes Program, the assistance cannot be used to pay your Realtor's commission. If this is not negotiated in your contract, then the buyer must pay the commission from their own funds.   (This guideline implemented as of 02/16/2024)

Under the Florida Hometown Heroes Program, the assistance can be used to pay a Realtor's with a maximum amount of $500.00. This includes, but is not limited to, transaction fees, processing fees or administrative fees. (This guideline implemented as of 02/16/2024)

AS OF JULY 1, 2024, TO BE ELIGIBLE: At least one owner-occupying applicant must be employed full-time by a Florida-based business. The business must have a headquarters or a brick & mortar location in Florida.

Work-from-home employees must report to or work out of a specific Florida location to qualify. Work-from-home employees must report to a specific location and the employer must confirm the location in writing.

Self-employed applicants must have third party confirmation of full-time status. The self-employed applicant’s CPA, bookkeeper or tax preparer must provide a letter confirming full-time work status.

Veterans of the US Armed Services are eligible, and are exempt from the first-time homebuyer and employment requirements above.

The Florida.Hometown Heroes program is a comprehensive housing initiative that combines standardized affordable lending programs with down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers.  

The program was formed by the Florida Housing Finance Corporation in Tallahassee, FL and the program is available to the public through participating authorized mortgage lenders.

For the Florida Hometown Heroes Housing Program, the income eligibility limit for down payment assistance is 120% of an area's AMI (Average Median Income), which changes each year and varies by county.

To find your county, click here to access the most current limits:  Florida Hometown Heroes Income Limit Chart »

The Florida Hometown Heroes Housing Program allows first-time homebuyers to finance the following property types:

• Single Family Homes
• Townhomes / Villas
• Condominiums
• 2-4 Unit Multi-Family Homes
• Manufactured Homes

If you are qualifying for a Conventional mortgage, and the total income on the application is 80% or less than the Average Median Income (AMI) for the county, you may be eligible for a discounted Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) premium, which may lower your overall monthly payment.

If your income is above this limit, (but still within program income limit of 120% of the county AMI), you may still qualify for the Florida Hometown Heroes program with a standard PMI policy.  

Click here to access the Florida Hometown Heroes income Income Limit Chart »

No, the Florida Hometown Heroes Down Payment Assistance funds do not require the homeowner to live in the home for a specific amount of time; however the down payment assistance funds itself must always be repaid in full when any of the following occur:

• The home is sold
• The home is refinanced
• The borrower moves to another home
• When the original mortgage loan comes to term.  

At no time is this loan forgiven.

The down payment assistance funds are provided through the Florida Housing Finance Corporation in Tallahassee, FL.

To access the funds, applicants must apply with an authorized participating mortgage lender.

For more information about the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, visit floridahousing.org.

The maximum debt-vs-income (DTI) ratio for the Florida Hometown Heroes Program is 50% for Conventional, FHA, and VA home loans for Automated Underwriting System (AUS) approved loans.  

For manually-underwritten loans, the maximum debt-vs-income (DTI) ratio is 43%.  

Manufactured homes have a maximum debt-vs-income (DTI) ratio of 43%, regardless of the underwriting type.