Up to $35,000 Toward Your Home. Funds Move Fast.
Status as of July 9, 2026 — not yet open
Relaunch anticipated Monday, July 13, 2026. The signed FY 2026–27 Florida budget includes $50 million for Hometown Heroes. eHousingPlus, Florida Housing's program administrator, states the 2026 program is anticipated to start Monday, July 13. Florida Housing has not yet posted a formal launch announcement — “anticipated” is the administrator's own word, and this page will be updated the morning of July 13. Funds are reserved through participating lenders until fully committed — in practice, first come, first served, as in every prior round. The 2024 round ($100 million) was fully committed in under two months. The 2025 round ($50 million) was fully committed in about six months. This round is the same size as the one that just ran out.
Or call 321-353-3373 and I'll review your eligibility factors before launch day. NMLS #2263609.
What the Program Is
Hometown Heroes is Florida Housing Finance Corporation's down payment and closing cost assistance program for workers in eligible occupations. In plain terms, it is two loans that close together: a 30-year fixed first mortgage (FHA, USDA-RD, VA, or Freddie Mac HFA Advantage conventional, at rates set by Florida Housing, with no 1% origination fee) and the assistance itself — a second mortgage of 5% of the first mortgage amount, minimum $10,000, maximum $35,000, applied to your down payment and closing costs.
Note that $35,000 is a cap, not a standard amount — a $400,000 first mortgage gets $20,000, not $35,000. Loans of $200,000 or less receive an automatic $10,000.
- Structure: 0% interest, no monthly payment, 30-year deferred second mortgage
- Not a grant and not forgivable — repaid in full when you sell, refinance, transfer the deed, pay off the first mortgage, or move out
- Cannot be combined with any other Florida Housing down payment assistance program
Who Qualifies Under the 2026 Rules
From Florida Housing's 2026 program documents (effective 7-13-26). The 2026 program is limited to specific occupations — the “open to all Florida workers” rule from 2023–2024 no longer applies. Only one borrower on the loan needs to qualify through an eligible employer.
- Eligible occupation. Categories: healthcare workers at Florida-based providers or facilities; K-12 school staff (public, private, charter, or magnet — teachers, aides, cafeteria, janitorial, counselors, principals); first responders (EMT, paramedic, firefighter); public safety workers (law enforcement, corrections, probation, juvenile detention, 911 dispatch, EOC); court, State Attorney, and Public Defender employees; childcare workers at licensed facilities; active duty and reserve members of all U.S. Armed Forces branches including Florida National Guard; and veterans. Always check the official list — Florida Housing revises it (HTH Eligible Occupations List 7.13.26 at floridahousing.org).
- Currently employed full-time by a Florida-based employer at closing. Full-time means the minimum hours your employer defines as full-time. Offer letters are not accepted — you must already be on the job.
- Fully remote workers are not eligible. Hybrid (part on-site) workers are. Self-employed and 1099 borrowers can qualify only if working full-time for one 1099 employer with a specific Florida location (or their own Florida brick-and-mortar location), documented by a CPA, bookkeeper, or tax-preparer letter plus the most recent year's tax filing.
- First-time homebuyer: no ownership interest in a principal residence in the 3 years before the mortgage, for all occupying borrowers. Exempt: veterans (DD-214, other-than-dishonorable discharge), active military and Reserves/National Guard (current LES), and buyers in federally designated targeted areas.
- Income within the county limit (Orlando-area numbers below). All includable income of employed occupying borrowers — base, overtime, bonus, commission — counts toward the limit even if it is not needed to qualify.
- Minimum 640 FICO for all loan types; 660 for manual underwrites.
- Maximum DTI: 50% with automated underwriting approval; 43% manual.
- Primary residence only, 1-unit properties. Non-occupying co-borrowers are prohibited.
- Pre-purchase homebuyer education from a HUD or National Industry Standards course, completed before closing (certificates valid 2 years). Veterans and active military are exempt unless using the HFA Advantage conventional loan.
2026 Limits — Orange, Seminole, Osceola & Lake Counties
All four Orlando-area counties carry identical 2026 limits, per Florida Housing's official limits document:
- • Income limit — FHA, VA, and HFA Advantage: $172,350 (all household sizes)
- • Income limit — USDA-RD: $119,850
- • Maximum loan amount — FHA: $541,287
- • Maximum loan amount — VA and HFA Advantage: $832,750
Why Prior Rounds Ran Out Fast
Every round of this program has ended the same way: funds fully committed, program paused until the next appropriation. How long this round lasts is not knowable in advance, and no official projection exists.
- July 2023: $100 million — fully committed in about two months, helping more than 6,400 families
- November 2023: reopened with $36 million in additional funds
- July 2024: $100 million — $61.3 million committed in the first month; fully committed in under two months (6,135 families)
- August 2025: $50 million — fully committed in about six months, helping more than 3,000 families; average assistance about $16,000 per loan
- Program lifetime since 2022: nearly 25,000 Floridians assisted, over $386 million in down payment assistance
How to Be Ready on Day One
You cannot apply to Florida Housing directly. Funds are reserved only through participating lenders — and under the 2026 lender guide, a lender cannot lock funds for you until you have a fully executed purchase contract. Buyers who are already pre-approved and ready to write offers when funding opens are positioned to reserve funds first; buyers who start their paperwork after the launch are working against a clock that has already started.
Two things to do before Monday, July 13: get pre-approved now (pre-approval reviews the program's eligibility factors before funding opens; final eligibility and approval are determined by program requirements and underwriting), and have your documents assembled:
- Government-issued photo ID
- 30 days of paystubs (paystubs confirming 40 hours/week can double as full-time verification)
- W-2s and federal tax returns, last two years
- Two months of bank statements for funds you will use
- Employment verification: a written or verbal VOE, or an employer letter sent from a work email. Offer letters are not accepted
- Veterans: DD-214 showing other-than-dishonorable discharge (a COE is not accepted in its place)
- Active duty, Reserves, National Guard: current Leave and Earnings Statement (LES)
- Self-employed/1099: CPA, bookkeeper, or tax-preparer letter verifying full-time status, plus your most recent tax filing
- Homebuyer education certificate, completed any time before closing (valid 2 years — you can complete it now)
Or call or text 321-353-3373 and I'll walk you through it.
Straight Answers
Is Hometown Heroes a grant?
No. Florida Housing's own language: the assistance is a 0%, non-amortizing, 30-year deferred second mortgage, and it is not forgivable. It is a real loan against your home. There is no interest and no monthly payment, but the balance does not shrink and it does not go away.
When do I have to repay it?
The full amount becomes due when any of these happens: you sell the home, refinance the first mortgage, transfer the deed, pay off the first mortgage, or stop living in the home as your primary residence. Until one of those events, you make no payments on the second mortgage.
Can I combine it with other down payment assistance?
Not with any other Florida Housing down payment assistance program — that is prohibited. Whether an outside, non-Florida-Housing assistance source could layer on top is a case-by-case underwriting question — ask before you count on it.
What happens if funds run out before I find a home?
Reservations stop when the money is fully committed, and the program pauses until the Legislature funds a new round — the 2025 round ran out in about six months. A lender cannot lock funds for you until you have a fully executed purchase contract, so being under contract early matters. If the round closes before you get there, your pre-approval still stands and we can look at other financing options together, subject to qualification.
I'm a veteran. Do I still have to be a first-time buyer?
No. Veterans are exempt from the first-time homebuyer requirement with a DD-214 showing an other-than-dishonorable discharge — a VA Certificate of Eligibility is not accepted in its place. You must still be employed full-time by a Florida-based employer, though in any occupation, not just the listed ones. One caution from the program's own lender guide: because the assistance is repayable when you move out, PCS orders can trigger full repayment — worth weighing before you use it.
Is the July 13 launch date confirmed?
Not formally. eHousingPlus, Florida Housing's program administrator, says the 2026 program is anticipated to start Monday, July 13, and Florida Housing's 2026 program documents are effective-dated July 13, 2026 — but Florida Housing itself has not published a launch announcement as of July 9. You may also see a 10:00 AM opening time online; no official source confirms any opening time, so this page does not publish one. This page will be updated the morning of July 13.
How this page tracks funding status: there is no official real-time funding tracker for this program. Status is monitored through Florida Housing's program page and press releases at floridahousing.org and the eHousingPlus FHFC Program Highlights page, where live rate postings are the operational signal that funds are available. When status changes, this page changes. Last verified: July 9, 2026.
The Florida Hometown Heroes Housing Program is administered by the Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC), not by Alex Khalil or Edge Home Finance. Program terms, funding availability, income and loan limits, eligible occupations, and all other requirements are set by FHFC and are subject to change without notice. Funding is limited and availability is not guaranteed; publication of an anticipated launch date is not a guarantee that funds will be available on that date or at any time. This page is for informational purposes only and is not a commitment to lend, an offer of credit, or a rate quote. Pre-approval is not a loan approval and does not guarantee program eligibility or funding. All loans are subject to credit approval, program eligibility, and underwriting requirements. Figures reflect the 2026 TBA program variant; the Bond program variant has different rules. Verify current program details directly with Florida Housing at floridahousing.org. Alex Khalil, Mortgage Loan Officer, NMLS #2263609. Edge Home Finance Corporation, NMLS #891464. Equal Housing Opportunity. Full mortgage disclosures.