What happens if I sell soon after using Miami-Dade's down payment assistance?

You repay the balance and the county shares in the profit: 100 percent of resale profit if you sell within three years, 50 percent in years four to six, and none from year seven onward.

Does using down payment assistance make my offer weaker?

It can, because assistance usually means a longer closing timeline and more conditions, so a seller weighing similar offers often prefers the one without it. It is manageable with an experienced lender, realistic dates, and the programme disclosed in the offer.

For first-time buyers · Miami-Dade

Down payment assistance here, explained properly

Q: Is down payment assistance a grant or a loan?

Almost always a loan. Most are deferred second mortgages with no monthly payment, repayable in full on sale, transfer of title or refinance. The exception is HFA Preferred and Advantage PLUS assistance, forgiven at 20 percent a year over five years.

Q: Do I have to be a first-time buyer to get down payment assistance in Florida?

For most programmes, first-time buyer means you have not held an ownership interest in a principal residence for the previous three years, not that you have never owned. Florida Hometown Heroes does not require first-time status but does require an eligible occupation.

Q: What is the income limit for Miami-Dade homebuyer assistance?

It scales with household size, around $95,600 for a single applicant and about $136,500 for a four-person household at the time of writing. Limits are revised periodically, so confirm current figures with the county or an approved lender.

There is more money available to a first-time buyer in Miami-Dade than almost anywhere in Florida — the county alone lends up to $35,000, interest free. Most of what is written about it reads like a brochure. This is the version that includes the conditions, because one of them decides who keeps the profit if you sell in the first three years.

What is actually on the table

These stack in some combinations and not in others, and every one of them has a funding window that opens and closes. Treat the amounts as the published maximums rather than something you are owed.

Programme	Up to	What it really is
Miami-Dade CountyPHCD Homebuyer DPA	$35,000	Interest-free second mortgage, no monthly payment, deferred up to 30 years. Due in full when you sell, transfer title or refinance.Read the resale condition below before you use this one.
Florida Hometown HeroesState — for specific occupations	$35,0005% of the first mortgage, minimum $10,000	0% second mortgage over 30 years, deferred. Not forgivable — due on sale, refinance, transfer, or when it stops being your home.
FL AssistFlorida Housing	$10,000	0% deferred second mortgage, no monthly payment, due on sale, transfer, refinance or when you move out.
FL HLPFlorida Housing	$12,500	3% second mortgage you do pay monthly, amortised over 30 years. A real added payment — budget it.
HFA Preferred / Advantage PLUSConventional loans only	3%, 4% or 5%of the total loan amount	The one that is genuinely forgivable — 20% a year across five years, then it is yours. Stay five years and you never repay it.

The part the brochures bury

The county can take your profit if you sell early

Miami-Dade's $35,000 is interest free, which sounds like the best deal on the list. It is attached to a shared-appreciation condition: sell in years 1 to 3 and the county takes 100% of the resale profit. In years 4 to 6 it takes 50%. From year 7 it takes none.

That is not a reason to avoid it. It is a reason to be honest with yourself about how long you will stay. If there is any real chance of a job change, a growing family or a move in under three years, $35,000 of free money can cost you considerably more than $35,000.

Nearly all of it is a loan, not a gift

Only the HFA Preferred and Advantage PLUS assistance actually disappears, and only if you stay five years. Everything else on that table is a second mortgage: no monthly payment in most cases, but a real debt that becomes due the day you sell or refinance. People hear "assistance" and picture a grant. Go in knowing you are borrowing.

It follows you into your refinance

Refinancing triggers repayment on most of these. If rates fall two points in three years and you want to refinance, you will need to clear the second mortgage to do it, out of equity you may not have yet. Worth knowing before you choose between a slightly higher rate with no assistance and a lower one with a lien attached.

It can weaken your offer, and that is manageable

This is the part no programme page will tell you. Assistance means more paperwork, a longer close, and in some cases a required inspection or repair standard. A seller choosing between your offer and a conventional one at the same price will usually take the other. In a market with cash investors in it, that matters.

It is not fatal and I would not talk anyone out of using assistance over it. It does mean your offer has to be built properly — realistic timelines, a lender who has actually closed these before, and the programme named up front rather than discovered at contract. An offer that surprises the listing agent in week three is the one that falls apart.

Whether you qualify

For the county programme, the income ceiling is higher than most people assume — around $95,600 for one person and $136,500 for a household of four, which covers a great many working households in south Miami-Dade. You also need to have had no ownership interest in a principal residence for the previous three years, with limited exceptions, contribute at least 1% of the purchase price of your own money, and complete HUD-certified homebuyer education.

"First-time buyer" is a term of art: in nearly all of these it means you have not owned a home in three years, not that you have never owned one. People rule themselves out who would qualify comfortably. Hometown Heroes does not require first-time status at all — it requires an eligible occupation.

What I would actually do

Get the education certificate early. It is free, it takes a few hours, and every one of these programmes requires it. Buyers routinely find the right house and then lose three weeks to a course they could have done in advance.

Then speak to a lender who closes these specifically, before you look at anything. Assistance is allocated through approved lenders, not by the county directly, and the good ones know which programmes are currently funded. That one call will tell you your real budget, which is the number that should decide where you look.

Buying your first place here?

Tell me roughly what you earn and what you have saved, and I will tell you what you can realistically buy in south Miami-Dade with assistance in the picture — and whether it is worth using. I will also say so if waiting six months puts you in a better house.

Talk through a first purchase

Common questions

How much down payment assistance can I get in Miami-Dade?

Miami-Dade County offers up to $35,000 as an interest-free deferred second mortgage. State programmes run alongside it: Florida Hometown Heroes offers up to $35,000 for eligible occupations, FL Assist up to $10,000, FL HLP $12,500, and the HFA PLUS products 3 to 5 percent of the loan amount as genuinely forgivable assistance. Which ones you can combine depends on your first mortgage and on what is funded at the time.

Is down payment assistance a grant or a loan?

Almost always a loan. Most of these are deferred second mortgages with no monthly payment, repayable in full when you sell, transfer title or refinance. The exception is the HFA Preferred and Advantage PLUS assistance, which is forgiven at 20 percent a year over five years and costs you nothing if you stay.

What happens if I sell soon after using Miami-Dade's assistance?

You repay the balance, and the county also shares in the profit on a sliding scale: it takes 100 percent of the resale profit if you sell within three years, 50 percent in years four to six, and none from year seven. If there is a realistic chance you will move inside three years, work that through before accepting the money.

Do I have to be a first-time buyer?

For most of these, "first-time buyer" means you have not held an ownership interest in a principal residence for the previous three years, not that you have never owned. Florida Hometown Heroes does not require first-time status at all, but does require an eligible occupation such as healthcare, education, first response, public safety, childcare, or military service.

What is the income limit for Miami-Dade's homebuyer assistance?

It scales with household size and sits higher than most people expect: roughly $95,600 for a single applicant and about $136,500 for a four-person household at the time of writing. Limits are revised, so confirm the current figures with the county or an approved lender before ruling yourself in or out.

Does using assistance make my offer weaker?

It can. Assistance usually means a longer closing timeline and more conditions, so a seller weighing two similar offers often prefers the one without it. It is manageable with a lender experienced in these programmes, realistic dates, and the programme disclosed in the offer rather than revealed later.

Sources and currency

Miami-Dade County Homebuyer Down Payment Assistance Program — miamidade.gov, for the $35,000 maximum, the deferral terms, the resale profit-sharing schedule, the income limits and the 1% contribution.
Florida Hometown Heroes, FL Assist, FL HLP and the HFA PLUS second mortgages — Florida Housing Finance Corporation.
Miami-Dade Economic Advocacy Trust runs further assistance for eligible applicants, as do several municipalities including the City of Miami. Ask an approved lender which apply to the specific address you are buying.

Checked October 2026. Programme amounts, income limits and funding availability change, sometimes mid-year, and allocations run out. Nothing here is an offer of credit or a promise of eligibility — confirm current terms with the county or an approved lender before relying on them. Equal Housing Opportunity.