Home/Buyer Resources
Buyer resources
Everything you need to work out what you can actually afford in South Florida — and what the process looks like from first conversation to keys in hand.
Run the numbers
Calculators built for Florida
Florida charges documentary stamp tax and intangible tax that most national calculators ignore, and our insurance costs are nothing like the national average. These account for both.
Monthly payment calculator
Principal, interest, taxes, insurance, HOA and mortgage insurance.
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Estimated monthly payment
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- Financed up-front fee—
- Loan-to-value—
Down payment calculator
What you need in the bank, what you are short, and how much to save each month to get there.
3% down is real
Conventional loans start at 3% down for first-time buyers, FHA at 3.5%, and VA at zero. You rarely need 20% — that number only removes mortgage insurance.
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Estimated cash to close
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Closing cost estimator
Florida-specific: doc stamps on the note, intangible tax, promulgated title rates and prepaid escrow.
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Estimated closing costs · of price
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- Intangible tax on the mortgage—
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- Owner's title policy—
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- Inspection—
- Survey—
- Recording fees—
- Prepaid property taxes—
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These calculators produce planning estimates only. They are not a loan commitment, a quote, or a Loan Estimate. Actual figures depend on your lender, credit profile, the specific property and the closing agent. Always work from your lender's Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure.
What actually happens
The home buying timeline
A typical South Florida purchase runs 30 to 60 days from accepted offer to closing. Here is every step, and roughly when it lands.
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1
Week 0
Buyer consultation
We map out your budget, timeline, must-haves and the areas that actually fit them. Free, and there is no obligation to work together afterwards.
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2
Week 0–1
Pre-approval
A lender verifies income, assets and credit and issues a pre-approval letter. In this market, sellers will not seriously consider an offer without one.
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3
Week 1–6
Touring homes
You get new inventory as it hits the MLS, not after it reaches the public portals. Most buyers see between eight and twenty homes.
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4
Day 0
Offer & negotiation
Price, closing date, escrow deposit, inspection period, financing contingency and who pays what. Terms win deals here as often as price does.
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5
Day 1–3
Escrow deposit
Your earnest money — typically 1–3% of the price — goes to the title company or escrow agent. It is credited back to you at closing.
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6
Day 1–15
Inspection period
General inspection, plus wind mitigation and four-point reports that your insurer will want. This is the window to renegotiate or walk away.
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7
Day 5–25
Appraisal & underwriting
The lender orders an appraisal and works through conditions. Do not open new credit lines or change jobs during this stretch.
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8
Day 10–30
Title search & insurance binder
Title runs the search for liens and open permits. You lock a homeowners policy — start this early in South Florida, it is the step that most often delays closings.
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9
Day 28–44
Clear to close
Final underwriting approval. You receive the Closing Disclosure at least three business days before closing — check every number on it.
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10
Day 30–45
Final walkthrough & closing
Confirm the home is in the agreed condition, wire your funds, sign, and take the keys.
Before you start
- Pull your own credit report and fix errors — it takes 30 days.
- Gather two years of tax returns, two months of bank statements and 30 days of pay stubs.
- Stop making large unexplained deposits; lenders will ask you to source every one.
- Get an insurance quote before you fall in love with a house. An older roof can make a home effectively uninsurable.
- Ask about the HOA's reserves and any pending special assessment — Florida condos especially.
A South Florida wrinkle
Since 2022, Florida condo buildings three storeys and up face milestone inspections and mandatory reserve funding. That has pushed dues up and triggered special assessments in older buildings. Always read the estoppel letter and the last two years of board minutes before your inspection period ends.
Read up
Buyer guides
Written for South Florida, not lifted from a national template. Every guide is print-ready — hit "Save as PDF" and take it with you.
First-Time Buyer Guide
What you need saved, how pre-approval really works, what closing costs come to in Florida, and the mistakes that cost first-time buyers the most.
Read the guide →Conventional Loan Guide
From 3% down, credit tiers and pricing, how PMI works and exactly how to get rid of it, plus conforming limits in South Florida.
Read the guide →FHA Loan Guide
3.5% down with a 580 score, more forgiving debt ratios, the mortgage insurance trade-off, and why FHA condo approval matters here.
Read the guide →VA Loan Guide
Zero down, no monthly mortgage insurance, the funding fee and exemptions, entitlement, and how to make a VA offer competitive.
Read the guide →Buyer FAQs
The questions everyone asks
Two separate numbers: the down payment and the closing costs. Down payment can be as little as 0% (VA), 3% (conventional, first-time) or 3.5% (FHA). Closing costs in Florida typically run 2–5% of the price for a financed purchase, because of doc stamps on the note, intangible tax and up-front escrow for our high insurance premiums.
On a $500,000 purchase with 5% down, plan on roughly $25,000 down plus $12,000–$20,000 in closing costs and prepaids. Seller concessions can cover part of that — it is negotiable. Run your own numbers in the down payment calculator.
For a first look around, no. Before writing an offer, absolutely — and most listing agents in Miami-Dade and Broward now require a pre-approval letter just to book a showing on anything in demand.
Pre-approval is also how you avoid falling for a home you cannot finance. It takes a day or two and costs nothing.
From accepted offer to closing, 30–45 days with financing and 10–21 days with cash. The search itself is the variable — some buyers write an offer in week one, others tour for six months. See the full timeline.
Everything you pay at the closing table beyond the down payment. In Florida a buyer's side typically includes documentary stamp tax on the note ($0.35 per $100 borrowed), intangible tax on the mortgage ($0.20 per $100), lender fees, appraisal, inspection, survey, recording fees, settlement fee, and prepaid property taxes and insurance into escrow.
In Miami-Dade the buyer customarily pays for the owner's title policy; in Broward and Palm Beach the seller usually does. That single item can swing several thousand dollars. The closing cost estimator handles the county difference.
Usually 1–3% of the purchase price in South Florida, held by the title company or escrow agent. It is not an extra cost — it is credited toward your down payment at closing. It is refundable while you are inside your inspection and financing contingency windows, and at risk once those pass, which is why those deadlines matter.
Yes — all three are common here. Conventional is the most flexible and avoids mortgage insurance at 20% down. FHA is the most forgiving on credit and debt ratios. VA is unbeatable if you qualify: no down payment and no monthly mortgage insurance.
One South Florida caveat: FHA and VA both require the condo project to be approved. Many local buildings are not, which quietly rules out a big slice of inventory. Read the FHA, VA and conventional guides.
Since the 2024 NAR settlement rules took effect, compensation is negotiated separately and nothing is preset. A seller may offer to cover the buyer's agent, the buyer may pay directly, or it may be negotiated into the contract as a seller concession.
Buyers now sign a written representation agreement before touring homes that states exactly what their agent is paid and by whom. You will see that number in writing before you commit to anything.
Yes. There are three common routes: sell first and rent briefly, buy with a sale contingency (weaker in a competitive market), or carry both if you qualify on debt-to-income with the first home rented or listed.
If you are moving within Florida, ask about Save Our Homes portability — you can transfer up to $500,000 of accumulated assessment savings to your next homestead, which can cut your new tax bill substantially. It has a filing deadline, so raise it early.
Rough floors: 620 for conventional, 580 for FHA with 3.5% down (500–579 with 10% down), and most VA lenders want 580–620 even though the VA itself sets no minimum.
Qualifying and pricing well are different things. On a conventional loan the difference between a 680 and a 760 score can be worth a meaningful chunk of your monthly payment. If you are 20–40 points away, it is usually worth a few months of work first.
Yes. Florida Housing runs statewide programmes, and Miami-Dade and Broward each administer their own local assistance, with additional programmes for teachers, first responders, healthcare workers and veterans. Most pair a first mortgage with a second-lien loan for down payment and closing costs, some deferred or forgivable.
They come with income caps, purchase price caps, a homebuyer education requirement, and they take longer to close — so the offer has to be structured to account for that. Ask about it at your consultation and you will be pointed to a lender who actually does these regularly.