$100M Set to Be Added to The FL Hometown Heroes Downpayment Assistance Program

Post published:June 4, 2024
Reading time:3 mins read

On July 1st 2024, $100M will be added to the Florida Hometown Heroes Downpayment Assistance Program. This program that began as a grant for frontline workers has opened up elligibiilty to all full-time workers of Florida-based companies.

How Does The Hometown Heroes Program Work?

The Hometown Heroes program provides downpayment assistance to Florida workers to buy their first home. Eligible applicants will receive a grant toward their down payment and closing costs. The funds can not be used to pay down debt or buy down your rate. The grant acts as a second lien on the property and does not have to be repaid until the homeowner sells the home, moves into another primary residence, or refinances.

Hometown Heroes Program Updates

In July 2023, the state of Florida expanded the occupation requirement to quality from frontline workers to all Florida workers. They also raised the maximum grant amount from $25,000 to $35,000- Though the grant amount was raised, eligible applicants will still only be granted a maximum of 5% of the purchase price of their home.

If you are interested in seeing if you qualify, we can put you in touch with one of our Florida Housing participating loan officers!

Hometown Heroes Eligibility Requirements

To qualify for this down payment assistance program, applicants must:

Be employed by a Florida-based employer
Be a first-time home buyer (have not owned a primary residence in the past 3 years)
Purchase a home in the community where they work and serve
Have a minimum 640 score
Have a 50% or less DTI ratio
Make less than 150% of the area median income (AMI)

Hometown Heroes Eligibility for Veterans & Active Military

Veterans & active military can use this grant even if it is not their first home purchase!

The Hometown Heroes program is perfect for anyone ready to buy their first home, but hasn’t had the time or ability to save up! However, the funds are not expected to last long. The last $100M deposit was quickly depleted.