If the Hernando County Down Payment Assistance Program is not right for you, whether because you do not meet the criteria or , the home you want doesn't, there are other programs available:

Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC)

• The First Time Homebuyer Program helps borrowers by offering a low 30-year fixed rate loan through its network of participating lenders and lending institutions.  A first time homebuyer is someone who has not owned  a principal residence in the last three years.

• Down Payment Assistance Program. Florida Assist loans offer moderate income borrowers up to $10,000 to assist with down payment and closing costs.  This is a loan offered at 0% interest rate and must be repaid only if the borrower sells or refinances the home.  HAMI loans offer up to $5,000 to assist with down payment and closing costs.  Borrowers have ten (10) years to repay this type of loan.

• The Home Ownership Pool Program -The HOP program is for developers to match qualified home buyers with purchase assistance.

State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) Program

• The Multi-Family Development Program provides loans to Developers that wish to build affordable multifamily housing communities.

• The Homeowner Rehabilitation Program matches funds with the County's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program to provide assistance to qualified applicants to correct substandard housing conditions.

• The Housing Enhancement Loan Program (HELP) provides SHIP fund for homeowners to rehabilitate their homes.  Homeowners must be income qualified as very low income.  Loan amounts of up to $37,000 are to correct building, health, and safety codes and to provide handicapped accessibility.

• The Down Payment Assistance Program assists qualified applicants with zero interest loans to assist in meeting their down payment and closing cost requirements. The loans are available for up to 20% of the purchase price.  The loan would be repaid upon refinancing or selling of the home.

Other Programs

• Single Family Bond Program through Escambia County Housing Finance Authority Since 1982, the Authority has issued approximately $1 billion in tax-exempt single-family bonds to provide affordable housing to families and individuals living in Escambia and other participating counties with which it has interlocal agreements. Hernando County participates in this program.

• The Ameridream Program is a down payment assistance program which features 100% financing and is available to sellers, builders, and buyers.  This program is not restricted to first time home buyers, nor does it have income limits since it is utilized with an FHA loan.

• The USDA Rural Development Program is also not limited to first time homebuyers, it offers 100% financing and utilizes adjusted gross income which allows more people to qualify.  Based on information provided by various lenders, most homes in Hernando County would qualify.  The program can be used for new or exiting homes; as well as new manufactured homes.

• Neighborhood Stabilization Program is designed to address foreclosure and abandonment in areas of “greatest need”. Hernando County has been allocated $4,299,472 to address properties in foreclosure, and $1,344,912 as a supplemental allocation to provide rental assistance for families whose income does not exceed 50% of the area median.
  
  Potential activities allowed through this program would allow the County to contract with an outside party to provide for two assistance programs; purchase assistance to be used for down payment and/or assistance with rehabilitation of the home to qualified applicants wishing to purchase a foreclosed home in Hernando County’s greatest area of need; direct purchase of foreclosed homes in the areas of “greatest need” to be sold or rented to qualified applicants.

• Proposed Federal Stimulus Plan. Includes up to a $8,000 tax credit for the purchase of a home.  Currently, income limits on the tax credit are not part of the proposal.