Here's David with an update on Hometown Heroes!
Hometown Heroes is a great Florida-specific program that can make buying a home in the sunshine state much more attainable. This program was initially created June 2022 to help front line workers and US service members buy a home with a decreased amount of closing costs. This is a downpayment assistance program that can help home buyers by paying a portion or all their down payment and closing costs. This program has historically been capped at a maximum of 25,000, but as of July 1st this year, this program will be getting a bunch of favorable changes. They will not only be increasing the amount of assistance given, but also broadening the pool of buyers who can now qualify.
2024 Changes to Florida Hometown Heroes
Starting July 1st, 2024, the Hometown Heroes program will be getting a large budget increase of 100 million in additional funding. This increased funding will allow the maximum limit of assistance to increase all the way up to $35,000 or up to 5% of the purchase price. This new update also expands the eligible pool of buyers to beyond just servicemen and front line workers. Governor Desantis realized that fully employed Floridians of all kinds help mold and impact a community as well, so he opened up the fund up to all employees that work over 35+ hours a week at a Florida based business and made the qualifications income based.
Here are the requirements to qualify for this Florida’s Hometown Heroes Program:
- You must be a first-time homebuyer, defined as not owning a home in the previous three years.
- Your income must not exceed 150% of your county’s Area Median Income (AMI), and your loan must meet your county’s loan limit requirements. Find out your local county’s specific maximums here https://www.floridahousing.org/docs/default-source/programs/homebuyers/hometown-heroes/income-and-loan-limits.pdf?sfvrsn=4852f57b_6 Both Escambia and Santa Rosa’s income limit is $134,850 annually.
- The property your buying is a standard sale and not a refinance
- The purchase is not for a lot or land loan
- Purchasers credit score must be over 640
- Single-family residences, townhomes, and FHA-approved condo purchase transactions are all eligible.
- Borrowers must take an approved HUD homebuyer education course.
Keep in mind that this loan will need to be repaid if the home is ever sold and is not a grant. The downpayment assistance comes in the form of a 30-year deferred second mortgage at 0%! This is a valuable tool to help first-time home buyers purchase. Call Realty Masters today and we can get you set up with Pensacola area lenders that offer this program today! Search Pensacola real estate for sale on our website here.
