Florida first-time home buyer programs: grants and loans

Florida's main first-time home buyer program is run by Florida Housing Finance Corporation, the state housing agency. It offers 30-year fixed-rate mortgages and down payment help through approved lenders, with a 640 minimum credit score and county income and price limits. Most of the help is a second mortgage, not a gift.

Counties and cities add their own programs, and federal loans work alongside both. Limits and open dates change, so each figure below carries its date and source. For the basics first, read our national guide to first-time home buyer programs.

Who qualifies for Florida Housing's homebuyer loans?

Florida Housing does not lend to you directly. You work with a participating lender, and you must meet these rules:

• A credit score of at least 640.
• An approved homebuyer education course.
• A purchase price and household income under the limits for the county where you buy.
• First-time buyer status under the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) definition: you have not owned and lived in your main home during the last three years.

The first mortgage can be an FHA, VA, USDA or conventional loan, according to Florida Housing's October 2025 guide. FHA means the Federal Housing Administration, VA means Veterans Affairs and USDA means the Department of Agriculture. Find a lender with Florida Housing's lender locator.

What Florida down payment assistance programs exist?

Florida Housing offers down payment help only as a second mortgage on top of its own first mortgage, never on its own. These are the programs it lists:

Hometown Heroes is for first-time, income-qualified buyers who work full time for a Florida employer as health care workers, school staff, first responders, public safety or court employees or child care workers. It also covers members of the military and reserves, and veterans who work full time for a Florida employer. Florida Housing says applying costs nothing.

What are the 2026 income limits by county?

Florida Housing sets a limit for each of Florida's 67 counties, and the amounts differ by program. The only current county table we could read on its site is for Hometown Heroes, effective with reservations as of May 6, 2026. The regular program's tables live in its lender locator and lender guides. We could not read a current official copy, so we show none rather than guess. Ask a lender.

The first income column covers FHA, VA and one conventional loan type, as a single figure per county. Many smaller counties sit at $148,050. Which income counts depends on the loan type, so ask a lender. For how percent limits work, see what area median income means.

Which federal loans work in Florida?

Florida Housing pairs its help with FHA, VA and USDA loans, which also stand alone:

• FHA: a down payment as low as 3.5%, according to HUD, the federal housing department. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau adds that every FHA loan carries mortgage insurance.
• VA: often no down payment for eligible veterans, service members and survivors, from the VA home loans page.
• USDA: no down payment, with household income up to 115% of the area median, in eligible rural areas. USDA's eligibility site checks an address.

What do county and city programs add?

Florida's State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) sends state money to all 67 counties and 55 cities. Local governments that take part must run a housing assistance program. HUD lists homeownership contacts by county. Three examples, as read on October 5, 2026:

• Orange County: down payment help of $70,000 for very-low-income buyers (up to 50% of median), $40,000 for low-income buyers (80%) and $10,000 for moderate-income buyers (120%). The 2026 limit for a household of four is $57,450, $91,900 or $137,880. A homebuyer course is required. The county says it is closed to new applications from September 6 to November 15, 2026, except for new homes on county-donated lots and some nonprofit-built homes, and expects to reopen about November 16.
• Miami-Dade County: down payment loans up to $35,000 at 0% interest, deferred up to 30 years, and a Homebuyer Loan Program of up to $100,000 at 1% or $80,000 at 2%. You need 3% down, with 1% from your own funds. The county's posted income chart is labeled 2025: for four people, 120% of median is $148,680.
• Hillsborough County: its Housing Finance Authority offers a 0% second mortgage for down payment costs, and says mortgage credit certificates are available with most loans. That is a tax credit for part of your mortgage interest.

What affordable homes for sale does Florida have right now?

As of October 5, 2026, we track 44 open Florida listings, and 6 are homes to buy. All 6 are income-restricted homes priced below market, not market-rate homes. See the Florida page and all listings.

• Palm Beach County (4 homes in Lake Worth): $290,520 for Moderate 1, $355,080 for Moderate 2 (two homes) and $419,640 for Middle. These are Workforce Housing Program homes, sold to income-qualified households at set prices for 15 years, and the limit starts over if a home is resold within that time. The county's table effective July 1, 2026 sets the incomes: over $86,080 up to $107,600 for Moderate 1, up to $129,120 for Moderate 2 and up to $150,640 for Middle.
• Tampa (2 developments): CDC of Tampa, a nonprofit, lists homes at $325,000 and $350,000. Its income limits are in an image-only sheet that we could not read.

None of the six shows an income table. The other 38 listings are rentals.

How do you avoid Florida homebuyer grant scams?

Florida Housing warns that scammers target buyers and ask for an upfront fee. Applying to Hometown Heroes costs nothing, and you can report a fee request to its Inspector General's office at 850-488-4197. The Federal Trade Commission says the government does not contact you out of the blue about grants or charge a fee to get one.

How do you apply, step by step?

1. Check the basics. Look at the three-year rule, the 640 score and your county's limits.
2. Take a homebuyer course. Florida Housing and the county programs we read each require one.
3. Pick an approved lender from the locator, and ask which first mortgage fits.
4. Ask your county whether its program is open.
5. Try our eligibility check against the listings we track. What you type stays in your browser. See how to qualify for affordable housing.