Florida Hometown Heroes reopened July 13, 2026 with $50 million, giving eligible frontline and workforce buyers 5% of their first mortgage, between $10,000 and $35,000, as a 0% interest second mortgage with no monthly payment. If that program does not fit, FL Assist offers a flat $10,000 and HFA Preferred can forgive 3 to 5% of your loan over five years. All three ride along with an FHA, VA, or conventional first mortgage. I check which one actually fits your file.
Every program on this page follows the same basic shape. Once you understand the shape, the three options are easy to tell apart.
Florida Housing Finance Corporation does not hand you a check. The assistance shows up as a second mortgage against the home, recorded right alongside your first mortgage. It closes the gap between what you have saved and what you need to close, but it is still debt against the property, just debt with very favorable terms.
Hometown Heroes and FL Assist can ride along with an FHA, VA, USDA, or conventional first mortgage through Florida Housing's approved lender network. HFA Preferred is built specifically around a conventional first mortgage. Which first loan you are already leaning toward can decide which assistance program is even on the table.
Hometown Heroes and FL Assist are deferred loans. The full balance sits at 0% interest with no monthly payment until you sell, refinance, pay off the first mortgage, or stop living there as your primary residence, and then it is due. HFA Preferred works differently. It forgives 20% of the second mortgage every year you stay, so five years of living in the home as your primary residence erases the whole thing.
These are not entitlements like a VA loan guaranty. They are funded pools of money that Florida Housing allocates through participating lenders, and once a round is reserved out, it is closed until the next one opens. That is exactly why timing your application matters as much as your eligibility does.
“None of these are free money. They're a loan behind your loan, with terms good enough that the right buyer would be leaving cash on the table by not checking.”Tony Fitzgerald · The Mortgage Jedi
Same state agency, three different shapes. Here is each one in plain language before we put them side by side.
Reopened July 13, 2026 with $50 million. Built for frontline and workforce occupations, healthcare, K-12 schools, first responders, law enforcement, court and childcare staff, military and veterans, under an income cap. Pays the most of the three, up to $35,000.
A flat $10,000, 0% interest, deferred second mortgage with no occupation requirement. Open to any eligible first-time buyer meeting income and purchase price limits. The steady fallback option that has been around for years.
Pairs with a conventional first mortgage. Instead of repaying it, you earn it, 20% of the second mortgage forgives every year you stay in the home. Stay five years and none of it is ever due back.
The dollar amounts and the repayment shape are the two things that actually decide which program fits you.
| Program | Who it's built for | Assistance amount | How it's repaid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hometown Heroes | Frontline and workforce occupations under the county income cap, buying a primary residence. | 5% of the first mortgage amount, minimum $10,000, maximum $35,000. | 0% interest, no monthly payment, deferred second mortgage. Due at sale, refinance, first mortgage payoff, or when it stops being your primary home. |
| FL Assist | Any eligible first-time buyer, qualifying veteran, or targeted-area buyer, no occupation requirement. | Flat $10,000. | 0% interest, no monthly payment, deferred second mortgage. Same repayment triggers as Hometown Heroes. |
| HFA Preferred | First-time buyers using a conventional first mortgage who plan to stay several years. | 3%, 4%, or 5% of the first mortgage amount. | Forgiven 20% per year over five years. Fully forgiven at year five. Unforgiven balance due if you sell, refinance, or move out first. |
Not sure which first mortgage you even want yet? See how FHA loans work or see how conventional loans work before we layer assistance on top.
Every program has its own guideline manual. Here is what actually matters, without the jargon.
You work in an eligible Florida frontline or workforce job, healthcare, K-12 education, first response, law enforcement, corrections, the courts, childcare, or you are active military or a veteran. Your household income has to fall under 150% of the area median income for the county you are buying in, which lands in a fairly wide range depending on where you buy and how many people are in your household. I pull your exact county number rather than guess.
Generally a first-time buyer with a minimum credit score around 640, income and the home's purchase price under your county's limits, and a completed homebuyer education course. No occupation test at all, which makes it the broadest of the three.
A first-time buyer financing with a conventional loan, comfortable with the idea that the benefit grows the longer you stay. If you are fairly confident you are not moving again inside five years, this is usually the one with the best long-term math, since it can erase the second mortgage entirely instead of just deferring it.
It does not mean you have literally never owned a home. Florida Housing generally defines it as not having owned and lived in a primary residence in the past three years. If you sold a house four or more years ago and have been renting since, you likely still qualify. Veterans with a valid discharge and buyers in a federally designated targeted area get that requirement waived entirely under Hometown Heroes.
Buying your first place and want the bigger picture beyond assistance programs? Start with the first-time homebuyer overview →
These programs are genuinely good deals for the right buyer. They are also a second lien against your home, so I will tell you plainly when that tradeoff makes sense and when it does not.
These questions tell me which program, if any, actually fits before we go further.
The questions I get asked most, answered first.
Hometown Heroes reopened July 13, 2026 with $50 million in funding. It is for Florida frontline and workforce workers, healthcare staff, K-12 school employees, first responders, law enforcement, court and childcare workers, and military members and veterans, who fall under an income cap of 150% of area median income for their county and plan to live in the home as their primary residence.
Five percent of your first mortgage amount, with a floor of $10,000 and a cap of $35,000. It comes as a 0% interest, deferred second mortgage with no monthly payment. You do not pay it back until you sell, refinance, pay off the first mortgage, or stop living there as your primary home.
It reopened with $50 million on July 13, 2026, and Florida Housing expects this round to last roughly into early 2027 based on how past rounds have moved. It is first come, first served through participating lenders, not a guaranteed reservation, so I would rather get your file moving now than have you find out later the funds ran dry.
FL Assist is a flat $10,000, 0% interest, deferred second mortgage with no occupation requirement. It is open to any eligible first-time buyer, qualifying veteran, or buyer in a targeted area who meets income and purchase price limits. I lean on it when someone does not work an eligible Hometown Heroes job, or as a backup if that round is unavailable.
HFA Preferred pairs a conventional first mortgage with a second mortgage worth 3, 4, or 5% of that first mortgage, and it forgives 20% of that second mortgage every year you stay in the home. Stay the full five years and the whole second mortgage disappears with nothing owed. Sell, refinance, or move out earlier and whatever has not yet been forgiven comes due.
No, Florida Housing lets you use one of these second mortgage programs per loan, not several stacked together. You can still combine whichever one you pick with a seller credit or builder incentive toward closing costs. I run the numbers on each program you are eligible for and tell you which single one nets you the most.
Generally yes for all three, and first-time usually just means you have not owned and lived in a primary residence in the past three years, not that you have literally never owned a home. Hometown Heroes waives that requirement for veterans with a valid discharge and for buyers purchasing in a federally designated targeted area.
A Sarasota-area note. Income and purchase price limits under these programs are set county by county, so a buyer in Sarasota County is not automatically working with the same numbers as a buyer in Manatee or Charlotte County, and that gap can decide which program you qualify for. It also matters where you are shopping. A starter home in North Port or Parrish is far more likely to sit under the purchase price limit than a comparable listing on Siesta Key, Longboat Key, or downtown Sarasota, where prices run well above the county's typical cap. I check both your county's income number and the home's price against the actual limit before we build a plan, not after you have already fallen for a listing.
So humans, search engines, and AI assistants all get it right.
Tell me your job, your income, and how long you plan to stay, and I will tell you which Florida assistance program actually fits, if any does, before the funds run out.
For education and illustration only. This page describes general Florida Housing Finance Corporation program guidelines that change over time and are not a quote, rate, offer, or commitment to lend. Down payment assistance programs are second mortgages secured by your home. Deferred assistance must be repaid at sale, refinance, payoff of the first mortgage, or when the home stops being your primary residence, and forgivable assistance can still come due in part or in full if you sell, refinance, or move out before the forgiveness period ends. Program availability, funding levels, income limits, and purchase price limits change and are not guaranteed until your loan is approved and closed. Your actual eligibility and terms depend on your complete application, the specific program's current guidelines, and credit approval. Tony Fitzgerald NMLS #1284924 · 1st Response Mortgage is a registered DBA of Barrett Financial Group, L.L.C., NMLS #181106 · FL License #MLD1880 · Equal Housing Lender · This is not a commitment to lend. All loans subject to credit approval.
Tony Fitzgerald · NMLS #1284924 · 1st Response Mortgage is a registered DBA of Barrett Financial Group, L.L.C. · NMLS #181106 · Florida License #MLD1880 · 2701 East Insight Way, Suite 150, Chandler, AZ 85286 · Licensed in Florida · Equal Housing Opportunity Lender