Updated 9/18/2026

These programs can only be handled by approved lenders. If you would like help from a local realtor familiar with the programs and lenders, fill out this form here and I will connect you with one.

I've included all of the links and contact info needed to do this on your own, the form is meant to make it easier.

Connect with a DPA team

How Down Payment Assistance Works

I need to give a quick overview of how down payment assistance works. After that, the programs are listed.

With down payment assistance, you'll run into two different types:

  • A grant

  • A loan

A Grant

If we meet the qualifications up front, then it's money that does not need to be repaid.

A Loan

If the down payment assistance comes in the form of a loan, then pay attention to the three different types:

  • Repayable

  • Deferred

  • Forgivable

Repayable is just as most imagine. It charges interest over a certain amount of time, with monthly payments until it's paid off.

Deferred loans usually don't require a monthly payment, and typically don't charge interest. It's due in full when you refinance, sell the home, or when it ceases to be your primary residence.

Forgivable loans will disappear if you meet the criteria, which usually comes down to keeping the home as your primary residence for a specific amount of time.

Okay with that, here are the programs!

Florida

Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC)

Florida Hometown Heroes

  • Assistance: Up to 5% of loan amount, max $35,000

  • Structure: 0% deferred second mortgage

  • Who qualifies: Full-time Florida workers in eligible occupations (healthcare, school staff, first responders, public safety/court employees, child care) or military/veteran, first-time buyer

  • Income limit: Up to 150% AMI

  • Repayment: Due on sale, refinance, or loss of occupancy

  • Website: https://www.floridahousing.org/live-local-act/hometown-heroes-program

Orange County

Pasco County

Osceola County

Broward County

  • Assistance: Up to $80,000 per property in most participating cities and unincorporated Broward, up to $120,000 in Weston, $75,000 in Pembroke Pines, and $50,000 in Hollywood and Margate, for down payment, closing costs, principal reduction or a rate buydown

  • Structure: 0% deferred loan

  • Forgiveness: After 15 years

  • Eligibility: No home owned in the past three years, income at or below 80% AMI (120% in Hollywood), a 30-year first mortgage, HUD-approved homebuyer education, and a sales price of $679,324 or less

  • Status: Per the county flyer updated August 2026, only Hollywood and Pembroke Pines have funds; every other community shows no funds, with new allocations expected in November 2026

  • Website: https://www.broward.org/Housing

Miami-Dade County

Hillsborough County

Palm Beach County

  • Status (as of 8/31/2026): Palm Beach County's housing portal shows "Applications Open · 2026 Cycle." Confirm current funding with the county before applying.

  • Assistance: Up to $100,000

  • Structure: 0% deferred second mortgage

  • Forgiveness: After 30 years

  • Website: Palm Beach County Housing Assistance

City of Tampa

Dare to Own the Dream

City of Orlando

Down Payment Assistance Program

City of St. Petersburg

  • Status: SHIP Purchase Assistance Funds are very limited; city is not accepting new applications citywide as of 7/2026 (CRA-funded assistance up to 140% AMI may still be available)

  • Assistance: 20% of the property's sale price plus $5,000 for closing costs, up to $75,000

  • Structure: 0% deferred loan

  • Forgiveness: 100% after 10 years (≤80% AMI), 50% for higher incomes

  • Website: https://www.stpete.org/residents/grants___loans/purchase_assistance_program.php

City of Jacksonville

$0 Down Options

While this isn't down payment assistance, these options may provide you with a program that does not require a down payment. USDA and VA loans are government-backed loans, while others may be portfolio loans from local financial institutions, which have their own unique rules.

Checked 9/18/2026 against each program's own pages. Rates are not listed here on purpose; every one of these is quoted by the lender, and portfolio lenders rarely publish theirs.

Achieva Credit Union HomeStart Mortgage

  • Assistance: True 100% financing with no money down and no PMI payment, per Achieva's own page. A portfolio loan Achieva keeps in-house.
  • Terms:
    • 100% financing in Citrus, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Hillsborough, Monroe, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sumter counties.
    • 97% financing (3% down) in Broward, Charlotte, Collier, Lee, Manatee, Miami-Dade and Sarasota counties.
    • Loan maximum, fixed vs. adjustable, and credit score requirements are not published; ask the mortgage desk.
  • Eligibility:
    • First-time homebuyers, or community service professionals: healthcare workers, first responders including 911 dispatchers, military and veterans, educators, and skilled trades including utility workers.
    • Achieva membership. Based in Dunedin, serving Tampa Bay and Southwest Florida.
  • More Information: Achieva HomeStart Mortgage

Power Financial Credit Union First-Time Home Buyer Special Program

  • Assistance: $0 down payment and no PMI. You must contribute 1% of the purchase price, but it can go toward escrows, closing costs or prepaids, and gift funds are allowed.
  • Terms:
    • 30-year fixed rate, or an adjustable rate with a 3, 5, 7 or 10 year fixed period. No prepayment penalty.
    • Single-family homes, townhomes and condos. This is the only $0 down, no PMI loan we found in Florida that names condos as eligible.
  • Eligibility:
    • You must never have owned a home or any interest in residential property, not just in the last three years. Primary residence only.
    • PFCU membership: live, work or study in South Florida or Tampa Bay (Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Monroe, Martin, St. Lucie, Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Manatee and Sarasota counties).
  • More Information: Power Financial First-Time Home Buyer Program | 800-548-5465

Community First Credit Union of Florida First-Time Homebuyer Loan

  • Assistance: 100% financing up to a $400,000 loan, and no PMI required.
  • Terms:
    • 7/1 or 10/1 adjustable rate with a 30-year amortization.
    • No origination, application or credit report fee.
  • Eligibility:
    • First-time homebuyer means no real estate owned in the past two years, a shorter lookback than most programs. Primary residence only; manufactured homes excluded.
    • Membership: live, work or study in Baker, Brevard, Broward, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Indian River, Lake, Martin, Nassau, Orange, Palm Beach, Putnam, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie or Volusia County.
    • This is Community First CU of Florida in Jacksonville, not Community Credit Union of Florida in Brevard, which runs a separate hero mortgage.
  • More Information: Community First First-Time Homebuyer Loan

USDA Guaranteed Loan (Section 502)

  • Assistance: 100% financing. No down payment and no monthly mortgage insurance.
  • Terms:
    • 30-year fixed only, made by an approved lender with a USDA guarantee.
    • A one-time guarantee fee of 1% and an annual fee of 0.35% in place of mortgage insurance.
  • Eligibility:
    • The home must be in a USDA-eligible area. In Florida the eligible territory runs down the interior of the state and through the rural Panhandle; the exclusions are large and metro-shaped.
    • Excluded: all of Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe (including the Keys), plus Tampa Bay, Orlando, Jacksonville, Naples, Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Sarasota, Ocala, The Villages, Lakeland, DeLand, Palm Bay, Port St. Lucie, Pensacola, Panama City and Tallahassee.
    • Eligible examples: Zephyrhills and Land O' Lakes (Pasco), St. Cloud (Osceola), Leesburg, Brooksville, Arcadia, Sebring, Lake Wales, Okeechobee, Clewiston, Immokalee, Palatka, Lake City, Marianna and Crystal River. Check the exact address; Clewiston is in and LaBelle is out.
    • Adjusted household income at or below the county limit, $122,800 for one to four people in 47 of the 67 counties, higher in metro counties such as Pasco (about $131,900) and Osceola (about $132,100). Every adult in the household counts, on the loan or not.
  • More Information: USDA property and income eligibility (check the exact address)

VA Home Loan

  • Assistance: No down payment and no monthly mortgage insurance at any loan size. No VA loan limit with full entitlement.
  • Terms:
    • A one-time funding fee, 2.15% of the loan on first use with nothing down and 3.30% on later use, which can be financed.
    • No funding fee for veterans receiving VA disability compensation and for certain surviving spouses.
    • Florida doc stamps and intangible tax on the loan, about 0.55% of the loan amount, are an allowed buyer cost on a VA loan.
    • Insurance is what makes or breaks Florida VA approvals. Get a real wind and flood quote and a wind mitigation inspection before you write an offer, and check the roof age. A condo must be on VA's approved list.
  • Eligibility:
    • Veterans, active-duty service members, and National Guard and Reserve members who meet the service minimums.
    • Eligible surviving spouses.
    • Guard members with 90 cumulative days of full-time Title 32 duty qualify under a 2020 law, even if told otherwise before. Florida Guard hurricane activations count.
    • Proof is the Certificate of Eligibility, which most lenders can pull in minutes.
  • More Information: VA Home Loans

Updated 9/18/2026

These programs can only be handled by approved lenders. If you would like help from a local realtor familiar with the programs and lenders, fill out this form here and I will connect you with one.

I've included all of the links and contact info needed to do this on your own, the form is meant to make it easier.