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Hometown Heroes — Down Payment Help That Must Be Repaid

Up to 5% of the first mortgage ($10,000 to $35,000) toward down payment and closing costs, plus a below-par rate — as a 0% deferred second mortgage that comes due in full when you sell, refinance or move out.

Verified August 20, 2026

What this benefit is

Up to 5% of the first mortgage ($10,000 to $35,000) toward down payment and closing costs, plus a below-par rate — as a 0% deferred second mortgage that comes due in full when you sell, refinance or move out.

What it's worth: Up to 5% of the first mortgage — $10,000 minimum, $35,000 maximum — plus reduced fees and no points

  • The assistance is a 0%, non-amortizing, 30-year DEFERRED second mortgage — repayable in full on sale, refinance, deed transfer or moving out. It is not a grant.
  • Funding is appropriation-limited; availability should be confirmed at application.

Who is entitled to it

  • You are the servicemember or veteran borrower.
  • You are buying a primary residence.
  • You are buying in Florida.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

  1. 1Start with a participating loan officer via Florida Housing’s locator — the programme runs through lenders.
  2. 2Check the 2026 occupational gate: a VETERAN must be employed full-time by a Florida-based employer; an active servicemember, reservist, Coast Guard or Florida Guard member need not be.
  3. 3Understand the repayment before signing: the second mortgage is 0% and payment-free, but it is due IN FULL when you sell, refinance, transfer the deed or stop living there. Budget the exit, not just the entry.
  4. 4Applying is free — Florida Housing warns that anyone charging an application fee is a scammer, reportable to its Inspector General.
Form
Application through a participating lender
File with
A Florida Housing participating loan officer — not Florida Housing directly
Documents you will need
dd214
No renewal needed
CorrectionSummaries — including the independent audit of this page — describe this as down payment "assistance". The administering agency is blunter: a 0% deferred SECOND MORTGAGE, not forgivable, due in full on sale, refinance or moving out. It is cheap money, not free money, and a family planning a five-year hold should price the exit.
Worth knowingThe 2026 gate differs by status: servicemembers, reservists, Coast Guard and Florida Guard qualify as such; a VETERAN qualifies through full-time employment with a Florida-based employer. A retired veteran not working is outside the 2026 criteria.
Known gapIncome and loan limits vary by county and year and are published as a separate schedule we have not reproduced — the lender locator applies the current figures.

Sources

Why only one source type: Florida Housing administers the programme and its page states the 2026 eligibility, the amounts, the deferred-second-mortgage structure and the not-forgivable term. The page was reachable only through a rendered browser; ordinary retrieval fails TLS verification on this host.

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.