Current down payment assistance guidelines, updated from one source.
The snapshot below is not typed onto this page — it is pulled from one down payment assistance guideline source and refreshed when that source changes, so Hollywood, FL always shows the options in force.
Of the purchase price
The largest option is a repayable second lien that covers your down payment and can reach closing costs and prepaids too; the smaller options cover the 3.5% FHA minimum down payment, in whole or, on the lowest tier, in part.
Covers the FHA down payment, in whole or in part
This covers the 3.5% FHA minimum down payment in whole or, on its lower tier, in part, and is forgiven at closing: no lien on the home, no monthly payment, no interest. It opens on the area income limit or on a qualifying category.
On the forgivable and repayable options
No income cap on the forgivable and repayable options: earn what you earn. The nothing-to-repay option is the one exception, opening at or below 140% of area median income or through a qualifying category.
Credit score to start
The score that opens the nothing-to-repay option; the forgivable options start a step higher and the repayable options higher still. Two-borrower files may use a blended score on the second-lien options.
| Option | Assistance | What you repay | Credit · mortgage · units |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grant-style assistance — nothing to repay | 2% or 3.5% of the price | Nothing — released at closing | 620+ · FHA 203(b), FHA repair escrow, FHA Limited 203(k), FHA Standard 203(k) · 1–4 units |
| Forgivable second lien — three-year | 3.5% of the price | Nothing after 36 on-time mortgage payments | 640+ · FHA 203(b), FHA Limited 203(k), HUD-184, USDA · 1–2 units |
| Forgivable second lien — five-year | 3.5% of the price | Nothing after 60 on-time mortgage payments | 640+ · FHA 203(b), FHA Limited 203(k), HUD-184, USDA · 1–2 units |
| Repayable second lien — thirty-year amortization, ten-year balloon | 3.5% or 5% of the price | Second lien, 30-year amortization, balloon in year 10 | 660+ · FHA 203(b), FHA Limited 203(k), HUD-184, USDA · 1–2 units |
| Closing-cost repayable second lien | 3.5% or 5% of the price | Second lien, 30-year amortization, balloon in year 10 | 660+ · FHA 203(b) · 1–2 units |
| Refinance-cost second lien (repayable) | 1% to 3.5% of the balance | Second lien, repaid | 660+ · FHA 203(b) · 1–4 units |
Current down payment assistance snapshot · updated September 7, 2026 · six options offered in Florida · no option requires a first-time buyer · no option combines with another assistance program · owner-occupied primary residences only.
Program figures are refreshed from one guideline source and change when it changes. The nothing-to-repay option is not offered in every state; the forgivable and repayable options are second liens; no option combines with another assistance program; all are for owner-occupied primary residences. The rate in the calculator is an editable market benchmark, not a quote, and the payment shown is an illustrative estimate; no fee or lender identity appears on this page. Lendmire is the broker, not the lender, and is not affiliated with FHA, USDA, HUD, or the federal government. Lendmire, LLC — NMLS #2371349. Equal Housing Opportunity.
What down payment assistance is — and how the options differ.
For Hollywood, FL buyers, the first-time home buyer programs come down to three parts: the first lien carries most of the price, the assistance covers the minimum investment, and the shape of the assistance — nothing to repay, forgivable, or repayable — decides what it costs to carry.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s down payment assistance program, or the statewide guide at Down Payment Assistance in Florida.
Assistance covers the FHA down payment
An FHA purchase asks for a minimum investment from the buyer; the assistance covers it, measured as a percentage of the lesser of price or value, and the largest option carries a further share for closing costs and prepaids.
Four shapes: grant, forgivable, repayable, refinance
Nothing to repay, forgiven over time, or repaid with a balloon: the three purchase shapes in Hollywood, FL cover the same minimum investment and differ in what the buyer owes afterward, and a fourth, the refinance-cost option, serves an existing FHA loan.
Credit floors, mortgage programs, and unit counts
A Hollywood file is placed by three things — the credit tier, the first-lien program, and the property — and the options table on this page shows the floor, the first liens, and the unit limit for every option offered in Florida.
Eligibility without a first-time-buyer rule
In Hollywood, FL, the question is not whether this is a first home; it is which option fits the credit, the first lien, and the property — and, for the nothing-to-repay option, which qualifying category applies.
The calculator below runs this math on a price you enter. Choose an assistance option offered in Florida and add any cash of your own; it sizes the minimum investment, the assistance, what is left for closing costs, the FHA loan with its mortgage insurance, and the payment at an editable market benchmark rate.
Where Hollywood’s first-time and moderate-income buyers shop — and how the assistance fits.
Census housing and income data describe who buys in Hollywood, FL and what it costs to get in; a lender reads those figures as context for the first lien, not as underwriting inputs.
These are context figures, not underwriting inputs. Value and income rarely move at the same pace; the market figures below show what a Hollywood home costs and how many households rent, and the calculator shows what that means for the minimum investment.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct Hollywood submarkets, distinct property rules.
Across Hollywood’s condominiums, townhomes, and older neighborhoods close to work, the same program produces different closings because prices, property types, and first liens differ block by block.
Townhomes and attached homes
Attached homes and townhomes in Hollywood sit at price points where the minimum investment is smaller in dollars but no easier to save; the assistance closes that gap, and the association’s documents are reviewed with the file. Median household income in Hollywood sits near $67,203 on the latest Census estimate.
New construction and infill
New construction in Hollywood works with the program; the appraisal and the builder’s timeline set the pace, and the assistance closes with the first lien like any other purchase. On a home at Hollywood’s median value, the FHA minimum investment comes to about $14,400 — the figure the assistance is built to cover.
Small multi-unit homes, owner-occupied
A buyer who lives in one unit of a Hollywood duplex can use the program on the whole building; the nothing-to-repay option, which reaches four units, makes a house-hacking purchase reachable with the minimum investment covered. Hollywood itself counts a population near 155K.
Condominiums close to work
Condominiums are often the entry point in Hollywood, and the assistance follows the first lien: the building needs FHA approval, or a single-unit approval, before the down payment help can attach to it. About 41% of Hollywood’s households rent — roughly 25,245 renter households, the pool the program exists for.
Manufactured homes on owned land
Manufactured housing on owned land near Hollywood is eligible, with the option decided by the home’s width: the nothing-to-repay option accepts single-width homes, while the second-lien options accept double-width only. Median gross rent in Hollywood is about $1,653 a month — the payment many renters already carry.
Older neighborhoods and renovation loans
In Hollywood’s established neighborhoods, a buyer can use the program with a limited renovation loan or, on the nothing-to-repay option, a standard one, so the down payment help and the repair budget close together. The median owner-occupied home value in Hollywood runs near $410,600 on the latest Census estimate.
Market context only. The option for a Hollywood file comes from the credit tier, the first lien, the property, and the eligibility category, never from the submarket.
Four ways Hollywood buyers put down payment assistance to work.
Down payment assistance in Hollywood, FL is used for more than a first purchase; these are the structures Hollywood buyers ask about most.
Buy a home that needs work with a renovation mortgage
A Hollywood buyer taking on a fixer pairs a limited renovation first lien or, on the nothing-to-repay option, a standard one with the assistance; the help is figured on the purchase price, and the loan covers price plus repairs.
Cover closing costs too on the larger option
When the minimum investment is covered but closing costs and prepaids remain the hurdle, the repayable option in Hollywood, FL reaches both; the balance above the minimum investment goes toward the closing.
Buy a first home with the down payment covered
For a first purchase in Hollywood, the assistance closes the down payment gap; the option is chosen by credit and first lien, and by eligibility category where the nothing-to-repay option is in play, and the rest of the file is an ordinary FHA purchase.
Pair the assistance with a USDA or HUD-184 mortgage
In USDA-eligible areas around Hollywood, the forgivable and repayable options pair with a no-down-payment first lien (the separate closing-cost option is FHA only); HUD-184 first liens pair the same way.
Size the assistance on a Hollywood price before requesting a quote.
The calculator does what a loan officer’s first pass does for a Hollywood file — sizes the minimum investment, applies the option, builds the FHA loan with mortgage insurance, and estimates the payment — using the current program figures and an editable benchmark rate.
Hollywood FHA payment with assistance
Illustrative Hollywood inputs; the calculator recalculates on every change.
Editable benchmark: 7.28% as of October 1, 2026 · Freddie Mac 30-year average via FRED®. A conventional market reference, not an FHA loan quote.
Illustrative starting assumptions: a $410,000 price near Hollywood’s median owner-occupied home value, the strongest assistance option offered in Florida applied against the FHA minimum investment, a thirty-year term at the current Freddie Mac benchmark, property taxes and insurance estimated for Florida (U.S. Census Bureau). Every field is editable.
Illustrative estimate only — not a Loan Estimate, approval, quote, or commitment to lend. The rate field carries the weekly Freddie Mac thirty-year conventional benchmark, a market reference and not an FHA loan quote; your rate is set by the lender at lock. FHA mortgage insurance follows HUD’s published schedule for the term, leverage and loan size entered; taxes, insurance and dues are editable estimates; closing costs are not included; a repayable second lien adds its own payment, which is not shown here. Consumer mortgage lending licensed in sixteen states. Lendmire is not affiliated with or acting on behalf of FHA, USDA, HUD, or the federal government.
Same buyer, three very different closings.
Down payment assistance is one of the ways a Hollywood buyer covers the minimum investment; each has a different cost after closing.
Assistance on an FHA loan, your own down payment, or assistance on a USDA or HUD-184 loan.
The structure for a Hollywood buyer who qualifies for the payment but not the cash to close — the help is sized on the price and the option decides what, if anything, is owed afterward.
For a Hollywood, FL buyer with the cash in hand, the plain FHA purchase is the cleaner file; the assistance exists for the buyer who does not have it yet. For the first lien itself, see Lendmire’s FHA loan program.
On a USDA or HUD-184 first lien in Hollywood, FL the assistance is forgivable or the ten-year repayable kind; the separate closing-cost option is FHA only. For the USDA first lien, see the USDA loan program.
If the payment fits but the cash to close does not, down payment assistance is the structure; if the cash is there, the plain purchase; if the property is USDA-eligible, the USDA first lien with assistance for costs.
What to prepare for a Hollywood scenario review.
The documents a lender reads first on an assistance file.
This is a general preparation guide, not a universal checklist. The selected lender may request additional information based on the mortgage, the assistance option, the property, and the eligibility category. Nothing here is legal or tax advice.
Local details that can change the loan.
These are the points a lender reads on a Hollywood assistance file before the option is confirmed; each one can move the structure.
Use these checks to keep the Hollywood file clean and fundable.
A clean Hollywood file starts with the option chosen, the first lien matched to the property, and the homebuyer education course completed where it is required.
- Know the option: choose by cost to carry first, amount second.
- Confirm the category: identify the category that opens the nothing-to-repay option.
- Consider a blended score: expect an automated approval, not a manual underwrite.
The option decides what you owe afterward
The same minimum investment can be covered three ways on a purchase in Hollywood, FL, and the difference is entirely in what happens after closing: nothing, nothing if the first lien stays current, or a second loan that comes due; the options table shows what is offered.
The eligibility category for the nothing-to-repay option
The category is checked at application on the nothing-to-repay option, together with the signed assistance application and the education certificate; no option requires a first-time buyer, and the second-lien options carry no income limit.
Blended scores for two-borrower files
A Hollywood, FL couple where one score is strong and the other is not may reach an option through the blended score, which applies only when the primary wage earner also holds the higher score and the file carries an automated approval; there is no manual underwriting on a blended file.
The balloon on the repayable option
The repayable second lien amortizes over thirty years but comes due in the tenth year; it carries interest and a monthly payment, its own loan number, and a balloon disclosure. It is the option that reaches closing costs, and it is a loan.
Property type and unit count select the option
The property itself can move a Hollywood, FL file: a fourplex, a single-width manufactured home, or an unapproved condominium project each changes which option can attach, so the address is read before the option is promised.
From a Hollywood pre-approval to keys with the assistance in place.
Four steps take a Hollywood, FL assistance file from a first read to funding; the first one is the one most buyers skip.
Pick the option
The first step is the option: which ones the credit opens, which the first lien allows, and which costs the least to carry for a Hollywood, FL buyer — settled before anything is ordered.
Get the mortgage approved
Lendmire packages the Hollywood file for the first lien first, because the assistance follows its approval; the option’s floor and the first lien’s rules both have to clear.
Clear the property
The appraisal, the condominium approval where one applies, the manufactured-home title, and the county loan limit are settled; small repairs go into an escrow holdback where the option allows it.
Close both loans together
The Hollywood closing carries both instruments: the first lien and the assistance, each documented on its own and closed together, with the education certificate in the file where it applies.
A brokerage that pairs the assistance to the loan.
Down payment assistance is where a generalist stumbles: the options differ by first lien, by credit tier, by unit count, and by state, and the wholesale programs that carry them competently are a short list.
The option, matched to the buyer
The nothing-to-repay option where it fits, the forgivable options where it does not, the repayable option where closing costs are the hurdle — chosen for the Hollywood, FL buyer, not by default.
The mortgage, matched to the property
A Hollywood file is matched to the first-lien program that carries the property — FHA everywhere, USDA or HUD-184 where they fit — and the assistance option follows that choice.
The right wholesale program
A Hollywood file is matched to the wholesale program whose option fits the buyer, and Lendmire manages the first lien and the assistance together through closing.
Trusted by first-time buyers & families alike.
Hollywood down payment assistance FAQs
The questions a Hollywood, FL buyer asks before requesting an assistance review, answered plainly.
Do I have to be a first-time homebuyer?
No option requires it. A Hollywood buyer who has owned before qualifies for the second-lien options on credit, mortgage, and property alone, and for the nothing-to-repay option through any of the other categories.
Is there an income limit?
A Hollywood buyer above the area income limit still reaches the nothing-to-repay option through an occupation, a first purchase, or the tract, and reaches the second-lien options regardless of income.
What first-time home buyer programs are available in Hollywood?
Assistance measured as a percentage of the price, in shapes that differ by what you owe afterward: nothing, nothing if the mortgage stays current, or a second loan with a balloon. Credit, the mortgage, the property, and the eligibility category decide which fits.
Do I have to pay the assistance back?
It depends on the shape you choose. Grant-style help is released at closing and never repaid; a forgivable second lien is forgiven after the on-time period; a repayable second lien is a real second loan with a balloon. A Hollywood buyer chooses by what they want to carry after closing.
What credit score do I need?
Scores in the low six hundreds open the first option, and each step up in score opens more of them. The mortgage program has its own rules too, so the credit score, the mortgage, and the property are read together before the option is named.
Do I need a homebuyer education course?
Required on one option, optional on the rest; schedule it early if the nothing-to-repay option is the plan.
Can I use the assistance on a second home or a rental?
Primary residences only. Investment properties and second homes are outside the program.
Can I combine this with another assistance program?
The options do not stack with each other or with local, state, or employer programs; a Hollywood buyer eligible for more than one chooses the one that fits best.
What property types are eligible?
A Hollywood home that the first lien accepts and the option’s property rules allow; the property side is checked before the option is confirmed.
What is the rate on the mortgage and on the assistance?
It depends on the first lien, the option, and the file; the rate shown in the calculator is an editable market benchmark, not a quote, and the payment it produces is an illustrative estimate. A scenario review produces the terms.
Place your Hollywood purchase on the right option today.
Start with the price, the first lien you expect, and your credit tier. No credit pull or commitment is required to request an initial scenario review.
This guide covers Hollywood — for the statewide options, categories, and property rules, see Down Payment Assistance in Florida, part of Lendmire’s down payment assistance program.
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Related programs: FHA Loans · USDA Loans · FHA 203(k) Rehab Loans