Florida Hometown Heroes UPDATE
June 13, 2023
Hometown Heroes Loan Program: UPDATE
Initially designed to help educators, front-line and healthcare workers buy homes, the Florida Hometown Heroes program is now being extended to all first-time buyers, regardless of occupation, who work at least 35 hours a week for a company located in Florida.
This program allows Florida home buyers to get up to $35,000 for down payment and closing cost assistance. For loan amounts of $200,000 or less, home buyers receive a minimum of $10,000. These new program guidelines start July 3, 2023, and are being heralded as a big win for Florida home buyers struggling with homeownership affordability.
Beginning with historic low rates and driven by rapid rate hikes, the cost of credit and home prices have far outpaced the average first-time buyer’s ability to easily afford to buy a home. This program is a direct initiative to address the affordability problem as the Federal Reserve tackles historic inflation. And although inflation has seen the smallest increase at 4% in May, rates are still unaffordably higher than where they were over the past couple years.
Some key cost inhibitors include:
- Down payment
- Homeowners insurance
- Title insurance
- Closing cost
- Mortgage insurance
Home Buying Strategies That Save Money
At the end of the day it’s all about how much you’ll pay each month and how much you have to bring to closing.
Those two things are what every home buyer should carefully consider because mortgage lenders, either big or small, do not do business equally. There’s three things Florida first-time home buyers need to weigh out when buying a home.
- Is my real estate agent effective?
- Is my mortgage loan officer effective?
- Are they an effective team?
Is my real estate agent effective?
Having a good real estate agent is the difference between happily moving into your dream home at the lowest price, or regretting you might have overpaid for the home. Although it’s your dream home and you want the value to increase over time, you still want to buy it for as low as possible. Having a good, experienced agent will help you effectively negotiate and get as many concessions out of the seller as possible, which can help you cover closing costs with seller credits.
Is my mortgage loan officer effective?
Having an effective loan officer is important because 1) You’ll get the best rate possible, 2) You’ll get the experience possible, and 3) You’ll have the best chance to close as possible. If any one of those three things goes wrong, you’ll have a bad experience, and possibly lose the home of your dreams if you don’t close. A good loan officer is a firefighter constantly putting out fires behind the scenes as your loan goes through processing. High IQ home buyers work with a well known, highly experienced Florida mortgage broker who has lot’s of good testimonials from past customers.
Mortgage brokers have access to multiple lenders rates ensuring your monthly payment is as low as it can possibly be. If there’s a problem with an appraisal, the broker can easily switch the loan to another lender and have it re-appraised without you having to waste time and re-apply all over again. They’re also your advocate among the lenders they work with who all want your business. Their job is to find you the lowest rate, best service lender possible to work with; then, make your life as easy as possible during an otherwise stressful experience.
Are they an effective team?
Believe it or not, a lot of home buying success comes from the team you surround yourself with. Having a good real estate agent and mortgage loan officer partner will set you up for success, just as someone not doing their job could cause the whole deal to fall through, and you lose your earnest money deposit. The more these two work together, the better they get to know each other, and become an effective team. Having complementary personalities and a commitment to getting the file to close are key to success, just as fast communication and creativity will solve most problems along the way. Home buyers who use Bee Mortgage tend to have lower closing costs and better rates, along with the greatest chance to close due to the expertise of the team working for them.
If you’re ready to make the leap into homeownership, contact us today! Our dedicated loan experts will walk you through every step of the way ensuring you get a low rate and close quickly!
If you’re looking for a streamline refinance to lower the rate and payment, apply here today or call 855-626-1999 and speak with one of our expert loan officers in your area!
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