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Miami Herald

Loan program for first-time buyers in Florida opens, but not all news is good

The Hometown Heroes program for first-time buyers in Florida returns on Aug. 18 — just in time for a market stabilization that gives buyers more inventory and more room to negotiate. But that's where the good news ends because in 2025, the Hometown Heroes Program only has $50 million to distribute to homebuyers. In previous years, up to $150 million was available to alleviate the housing affordability crisis faced by Floridians. So hurry if you plan to apply because the money will quickly run out, real estate professionals say. The program offers up to $35,000 for the down payment and closing costs for Florida's frontline or essential workers purchasing their first property to live in. It works as a second interest-free loan that is repaid when the house is sold or the mortgage is refinanced. Now in its fourth year, the Hometown Heroes program once again limits access to funds exclusively for specific industries in Florida, as it did initially when it was created after the pandemic to retain employees in the state who couldn't afford homes due to high housing prices. In 2025, health professionals, teachers and school staff, police officers, first responders, firefighters, prison guards, court employees, childcare workers, active military personnel, veterans, members of the Coast Guard and Florida National Guard, and reservist personnel from these organizations can all apply to Hometown Heroes. For a complete list of the professions, you can check the website of the Florida Housing Finance Corporation. Here are the fundamental requirements to benefit from the program: • The loan applicant must work at least 35 hours a week in a business located in Florida. • They must be first-time buyers, which means they have not purchased a home in the last three years. • They must have a minimum credit score of 640. • They cannot exceed the income limit set by the program, which in the case of Miami-Dade is $185,850 and in Broward, $172,950. • The program can be used with conventional loans, FHA loans, and USDA loans, which are available for rural areas. The program has provided an average of $16,198 for down payments and closing costs on properties with an average price of $321,087, and the average buyer's age is 38, according to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation's website. For information about the Hometown Heroes program: