Up to $110K in Brevard down-payment help.
Two programs most buyers never hear about, and one of them reopens with $50 million, first come, first served. Sixty seconds tells you if you should care.
Florida Hometown Heroes is OPEN. It reopened July 13, 2026 with $50 million, first come, first served, and past rounds have run out in weeks. If the quiz below says you're likely eligible, get to a participating lender now, applications go through lenders, not the state. Here's the full breakdown.
Do you qualify?
Answer six questions. No email required, no strings, the result shows instantly, and what you do with it is up to you.
Both programs can stack on the same purchase. Neither is a scam, a grant lottery, or a gimmick, they're state and county programs funded for exactly one purpose: getting working Floridians into first homes.
Florida Hometown Heroes, up to $35K
Brevard County SHIP, up to $75K
This is a screening guide, not an approval. Final eligibility, income limits, and funding availability are set by Florida Housing and Brevard County Housing & Human Services, and change every cycle. A participating lender confirms your actual numbers, I'll connect you with one, no cost, no obligation.
How the money works.
Florida Hometown Heroes
For full-time workers employed by Florida-based companies buying a first home (or first in 3 years, veterans are exempt from that rule). You get 5% of your loan amount, between $10,000 and $35,000, as a 0%-interest second mortgage. No monthly payment: it's repaid only when you sell, refinance, or pay off the home. Minimum 640 credit score; county income limits apply and change each cycle. Funding is statewide and first-come, first-served through participating lenders.
Brevard County SHIP
County purchase assistance for lower-to-moderate income households, historically up to $75,000 depending on your income tier. Comes with real strings: purchase-price caps (recently around $304K existing / $329K new construction), a liquid-asset limit near $15K, and a required homebuyer education class. Funding cycles run July to June and can pause when money runs out, timing matters.
Stacking them
In the right income and price band, the two programs can combine on one purchase, that's where the "up to $110K" headline comes from. It's not typical, and it takes a lender who knows both programs. That's exactly the introduction I make.
DPA questions, answered.
Do I have to pay it back?
Hometown Heroes: yes, but at 0% interest and only when you sell, refinance, or pay off the house, no monthly payment. Brevard SHIP: depends on your tier; some assistance is deferred and forgivable over time. Neither works like a normal loan payment.
I owned a home 5 years ago. Am I out?
No, "first-time buyer" in these programs usually means no ownership in the last 3 years. And if you're a veteran, Hometown Heroes waives the first-time requirement entirely.
Why the rush on Hometown Heroes?
The state funds it in rounds, and each round is first-come, first-served through lenders. Past rounds have been exhausted in weeks. Being pre-qualified with a participating lender before a round opens is the whole game.
What does Josh get out of this?
Nothing on the assistance itself, I don't sell loans. If you end up buying a home and want a no-pressure agent in your corner, that's the business I'm in. If you just use the quiz and never call, genuinely fine.
Questions people actually ask.
Do I have to pay back Florida down-payment assistance?
Florida Hometown Heroes assistance is a 0%-interest deferred second mortgage repaid only when you sell, refinance, or pay off the home, no monthly payment. Brevard County SHIP assistance terms depend on your income tier; some assistance is deferred and forgivable over time.
Am I a first-time buyer if I owned a home years ago?
Usually yes, these programs generally define first-time buyer as no home ownership in the last 3 years. Veterans are exempt from the first-time requirement under Hometown Heroes.
Why is timing urgent for Hometown Heroes?
The state funds Hometown Heroes in rounds that are first-come, first-served through participating lenders, and past rounds have been exhausted in weeks. Being pre-qualified with a participating lender before a round opens is critical.
Can Hometown Heroes and Brevard SHIP be combined?
In the right income and purchase-price band the two programs can stack on one purchase, up to roughly $110K combined, but it requires a lender familiar with both programs.
Sixty seconds could be worth $35,000.
If the quiz says you're close, don't sit on it, funding windows don't wait for perfect timing.