First-Time Home Buyer in Florida

Who counts as a first-time buyer in Florida

For most programs, you are a first-time buyer if you have not owned a primary residence in the past three years. That means a past owner who has rented or lived with family for three years can qualify again. Veterans are often exempt from the first-time rule in state programs. Every program also sets:

• Income limits by county and household size.
• Purchase price limits by county.
• Minimum credit and debt-to-income standards set by the program and the lender.
• Occupancy: you must live in the home as your primary residence.
• Homebuyer education: an approved course, often available online, completed before closing.

Check the limits for your county before you shop. A buyer who qualifies in one county can exceed the income limit in the next.

Florida Housing down payment programs in 2026

Florida Housing Finance Corporation, the state housing finance agency, offers its programs through participating lenders, paired with its own first mortgage. The current down payment options:

• FL Assist: up to $10,000 as a 0% second mortgage with no monthly payment. It is repaid when you sell, refinance, transfer the title or stop living in the home.
• FL HLP: $12,500 at 3% interest, repaid monthly over 30 years, which works out to about $53 a month.
• HFA Preferred PLUS and HFA Advantage PLUS: 3%, 4% or 5% of the first mortgage, forgiven at 20% a year over five years. Sell or refinance in those five years and you repay the unforgiven part.
• Hometown Heroes: 5% of the first mortgage, from $10,000 to $35,000, at 0% and deferred for 30 years, for eligible Florida workers earning up to 150% of area median income.

You can use only one Florida Housing down payment program per purchase. Hometown Heroes is funded by yearly legislative allocations, and the 2025 to 2026 money was fully committed by February 2026, so confirm with a participating lender whether new reservations are open before you plan around it. Program amounts and rules change; check floridahousing.org for the current terms.

Local help from your county or city

Many Florida counties and cities run their own down payment and closing cost programs, often funded through the state's SHIP program. Amounts, income limits and repayment terms vary widely, and some can be combined with a state program. Search your county's housing or community development office before choosing a lender, and ask the lender whether they work with the local program. These funds also run in cycles and can pause when the year's money is committed.

The order that works: lender, program, then house

First-time buyers who use state help get to closing more smoothly when they set things up in this order:

• Pick a participating lender first. Only lenders approved by Florida Housing can offer its programs, and not every bank or online lender is on the list.
• Get preapproved with the program built in. The preapproval should show the first mortgage, the second mortgage and your estimated cash to close.
• Take the homebuyer course early, since the certificate is needed before closing.
• Check the price limit for your county and shop below it.
• Tell your agent which program you are using, so offers allow enough time for the lender's review and any program reservation.
• Get insurance quotes during the inspection period, because a higher premium can push your debt ratio past the program limit.

Program reservations and approvals add a few steps to a normal purchase, so leave a little more time between contract and closing.

Minimum down payments and what they come to

The loan type sets the minimum. Using Zillow values:

• Conventional with 3% down for qualifying first-time buyers: about $8,545 in Jacksonville and $7,917 in Ocala, where the typical home is $263,895.
• FHA with 3.5% down: about $9,969 in Jacksonville and $10,343 in Polk County, at $295,509.
• VA and USDA: no down payment at all if you are a qualifying veteran or the home is in a USDA-eligible area.
• Statewide: on Florida's typical home value of $375,361, 3.5% is about $13,138.

Low down payments mean mortgage insurance. On FHA it is charged up front and monthly; on conventional loans it drops off once you reach enough equity. I usually show first-time buyers the monthly payment at 3.5% and at 5% side by side so the trade-off is visible.

Florida costs first-time buyers tend to underestimate

• Homeowners insurance: the first year is paid at or before closing. Roof age and wind mitigation features drive the price, and older roofs can make a house hard to insure.
• Flood insurance in FEMA A and V zones, which lenders require.
• Mortgage taxes: note stamps at $0.35 per $100 of the loan and 0.2% intangible tax, paid by the buyer.
• Title: the lender's policy is always on the buyer; the owner's policy is on the buyer in Miami-Dade, Broward and some other counties.
• Inspections: general, wind mitigation, 4-point on older homes, and termite.
• HOA or CDD charges in many newer communities.
• Hurricane deductible, often 2% of dwelling coverage, applied once per calendar year.

Some down payment programs can be used toward closing costs as well. Ask the lender how the second mortgage can be applied.

Condo or house for a first purchase

Condos are the lower-priced entry, at $262,592 statewide against $396,809 for a single-family home. For a first-time buyer, the condo route has two specific checks. First, the building must be approved for your loan type; many state program and FHA loans need an eligible condo project. Second, the association's budget must fund structural reserves under the current rules for buildings three or more stories, and older buildings may be facing milestone inspection repairs. A low price with a large pending assessment is not a low price. Resale condo buyers can cancel within 7 days of receiving the association documents, excluding weekends and legal holidays.

Homestead in your first year

Once you own and live in the home on January 1, file for homestead with the county property appraiser by March 1. In 2026 it removes up to $51,411 from assessed value and caps future increases at 3% or CPI, whichever is lower. Your first tax bill reflects the assessment reset after purchase, so budget from the property appraiser's estimate, not the seller's bill. Amendment 3 on the November 3, 2026 ballot may change homestead rules if it reaches 60%. This isn't legal or tax advice.