Up to $35,000 Toward Your First Home

The Florida Hometown Heroes Housing Program helps eligible workforce borrowers purchase a primary residence in Florida by providing down payment and closing cost assistance alongside a qualifying first mortgage.

Administered through Florida Housing and delivered by approved lenders, the program pairs a 30-year first mortgage — FHA, VA, USDA, or Conventional — with a second mortgage that covers a portion of your upfront costs. For most working families, the down payment is the single biggest barrier to buying a home. Hometown Heroes was built to lower that barrier for the people who keep Florida's communities running.

At least one borrower on the loan must meet the eligible occupation or service category requirement, and all borrowers must meet the program's income, credit, and property guidelines. Assistance is subject to program rules, underwriting approval, and fund availability.

Eligible borrowers may receive up to 5% of their first mortgage loan amount as down payment and closing cost assistance — with a $10,000 minimum and a $35,000 maximum, one of the most generous DPA caps available to Florida buyers.

The assistance is a 0% interest, non-amortizing, 30-year deferred second mortgage. No interest ever accrues and there is no monthly payment while you occupy the home as your primary residence — the amount you borrow is the amount you eventually repay.

Important — this is a loan, not a grant. Hometown Heroes assistance is not forgivable. It is a deferred second mortgage that must be repaid in full when you sell the home, refinance the first mortgage, transfer ownership, or stop occupying the property as your primary residence.

At least one borrower must work full-time for a Florida-based employer in an eligible occupation or service category. Common qualifying categories include healthcare workers, school employees, first responders, public safety and court employees, child care workers, active-duty military, military reserves, Florida National Guard members, and veterans.

Eligibility is generally tied to your employer and full-time work status rather than a specific job title — support staff employed full-time by an eligible Florida facility may qualify. Not sure whether your occupation counts? A quick call with a loan specialist confirms it in minutes.

Program guidelines generally require around a 640+ FICO score. Debt-to-income ratios may be allowed up to approximately 50% with automated underwriting approval, though manual underwriting or specific loan-type rules may be stricter.

The Hometown Heroes second mortgage may be combined with FHA, VA, USDA, or Conventional first mortgages, subject to underwriting approval. FHA is the most popular pairing thanks to flexible credit guidelines and a 3.5% minimum down payment; VA offers 0% down for eligible veterans and service members; USDA offers 0% down in eligible rural and suburban areas; and HFA conventional options may offer reduced mortgage insurance for qualifying income levels.

Illustrative example on a $330,000 FHA purchase: FHA minimum down payment (3.5%) is $11,550; the FHA base first mortgage is $318,450; Hometown Heroes assistance at 5% of the first mortgage is approximately $15,900. After covering the down payment, roughly $4,350 remains to apply toward closing costs and prepaids.

Illustrative example for educational purposes only — not an offer or a quote. Actual assistance, loan amounts, rates, and costs depend on the property, program guidelines, and underwriting approval. Buyers may still need funds for remaining closing costs, prepaids, or earnest money.

Eligible primary residences include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums (project approval may apply), approved 2 to 4 unit owner-occupied properties, and eligible manufactured homes. Second homes, investment properties, and non-owner-occupied purchases are not eligible.

The assistance is not forgivable. The Hometown Heroes second mortgage becomes due in full when you sell the home, refinance the first mortgage, transfer ownership or the deed, or when the property is no longer your primary residence. Because the loan is 0% interest and non-amortizing, you repay only the original assistance amount — no interest is ever added. For many buyers, repayment simply comes out of sale proceeds or is handled at refinance.

If you can check most of the boxes below, you owe it to yourself to get an eligibility review.