The first-time buyer guide

1. What you actually need saved

Two separate pots of money, and first-time buyers routinely budget only for the first one.

The down payment is a percentage of the purchase price. It is not 20%. That number is only the threshold above which you avoid mortgage insurance on a conventional loan. In practice the floors are 0% on a VA loan, 3% on a conventional loan for many first-time buyers, and 3.5% on FHA.

Closing costs are everything else due at the table, and in Florida they typically run 2–5% of the purchase price on a financed purchase. Two of those line items are specific to this state: documentary stamp tax on the promissory note at $0.35 per $100 borrowed, and intangible tax on the mortgage at $0.20 per $100. Add lender fees, appraisal, inspection, survey, recording, the settlement fee, and — the big one here — several months of property taxes and up to a year of homeowners insurance prepaid into escrow.

On a $500,000 purchase with 5% down, that is roughly $25,000 for the down payment plus somewhere around $12,000–$20,000 in closing costs and prepaids. Seller concessions can cover part of the second number, and that is negotiable.

Work out your own figure in the down payment calculator and the closing cost estimator.

2. Credit and getting ready

Pull your own credit reports early — you are entitled to free copies, and disputing an error takes about 30 days, which you do not want to discover mid-escrow.

Rough score floors: 620 for conventional, 580 for FHA at 3.5% down (500–579 with 10% down), and most VA lenders want 580–620 even though the VA sets no minimum itself. But qualifying and pricing well are different questions. On a conventional loan, moving from the 680s into the 740s can meaningfully change both your interest rate and your mortgage insurance premium. If you are 20–40 points away, a few months of work usually pays for itself many times over.

What to gather

• Two years of tax returns and W-2s (or 1099s / two years of business returns if self-employed)
• Thirty days of pay stubs
• Two months of statements for every account you will draw funds from
• Photo ID, and immigration documentation if applicable

What not to do

• Do not open new credit cards or finance a car — it changes your debt ratios and can kill the loan days before closing
• Do not change jobs or move from salaried to self-employed
• Do not make large unexplained deposits; every one has to be sourced and documented
• Do not close old credit accounts thinking it helps — it usually does not

3. Pre-approval

A pre-approval is a lender's written statement, after verifying income, assets and credit, of how much they will lend you. It is not the same as a pre-qualification, which is an unverified estimate and carries little weight.

In Miami-Dade and Broward, most listing agents now want to see a pre-approval letter before confirming a showing on anything in demand, and no seller will seriously consider an offer without one. Get it before you start looking properly.

Shop two or three lenders. Rate quotes on the same day can differ by enough to matter over thirty years, and credit inquiries for a mortgage within a short window count as one.

4. Choosing a loan

The condo row matters more here than almost anywhere else. A large share of South Florida inventory is condominium, and many buildings are not FHA or VA approved — which silently removes them from your search if you use those programmes.

Full detail in the conventional, FHA and VA guides.

5. Down payment assistance

Florida Housing runs statewide programmes, and Miami-Dade and Broward each administer their own local assistance. There are additional programmes aimed at teachers, first responders, healthcare workers and veterans. Most pair a first mortgage with a second-lien loan covering down payment and closing costs — some deferred until you sell or refinance, some forgivable over time.

What to expect:

• Household income limits, which vary by county and household size
• Purchase price limits
• A homebuyer education course, usually required before closing
• An owner-occupancy requirement
• A longer closing timeline, which the offer has to be written around

Programme funding and terms change, sometimes mid-year. Work with a lender who does these regularly rather than one who has heard of them — the difference shows up in whether your file actually closes on time.

6. Searching effectively

Decide your non-negotiables before you start touring, because it is very hard to think clearly once you have walked through a house you like. A useful exercise: write down three things you will not compromise on and three you will. Bedroom count, commute and a hard budget ceiling are usually the first list. Finishes, square footage and the exact street are usually the second.

Set your budget on the full monthly cost. In South Florida the mortgage payment can be well under half of what you actually pay each month once homeowners insurance, flood insurance, property taxes and HOA dues are included.

Most first-time buyers see eight to twenty homes. Fewer than five and you have not calibrated; more than twenty-five and it usually means the criteria or the budget need revisiting.

7. Writing an offer that wins

Price is one of several levers, and often not the decisive one. Sellers are choosing the offer most likely to actually close, on the timeline they want.

• Escrow deposit — 1–3% is typical here. A larger deposit signals seriousness.
• Inspection period length — a shorter window is more attractive to a seller, but do not go shorter than you can genuinely inspect in.
• Financing contingency — how long the seller is exposed if your loan falls through.
• Closing date — matching the seller's preferred date is free and can be worth thousands.
• Post-closing occupancy — letting a seller stay a few weeks after closing can beat a higher offer.
• Appraisal gap language — how much of a low appraisal you will cover in cash, if any.
• Who pays what — title, survey and doc stamps are all negotiable in Florida and vary by county custom.

8. The inspection period

Once the contract is executed, the clock starts. In Florida the standard contract gives you a defined inspection period during which you can cancel and get your deposit back. Use every day of it.

Book, at minimum:

• General home inspection — structure, systems, roof, plumbing, electrical
• Wind mitigation inspection — documents roof attachment, shape and openings; earns real insurance credits
• Four-point inspection — roof, electrical, plumbing, HVAC; most insurers require it on older homes
• WDO / termite inspection — standard practice here

Consider a roof specialist, a pool inspection, or a sewer scope depending on the property.

You are also reviewing documents in this window: the seller's disclosure, the survey, the permit history with the local building department, and — if there is an association — the estoppel letter, budget, reserve study and recent board minutes.

9. Insurance — start early

This is the step that most often derails South Florida closings, and it is entirely avoidable. Start getting quotes the day your offer is accepted, not the week before closing.

• Homeowners with windstorm — required by any lender. Premiums here are well above the national average, and the hurricane deductible is typically a percentage of insured value rather than a flat amount.
• Flood — required by the lender if the property is in a high-risk zone, and worth considering even if not. Never covered by a standard homeowners policy. Pull the flood zone before you get attached to a house.
• Roof age is decisive — many carriers will not write a policy on a roof over a certain age, or will only offer actual cash value rather than replacement cost. A home can be effectively uninsurable, which means unfinanceable.

10. If you are buying a condo

Condominiums make up a large share of South Florida inventory, and since the 2021 Surfside collapse the rules have changed significantly. Buildings three storeys and above are subject to milestone structural inspections and mandatory structural integrity reserve studies, and associations can no longer waive reserve funding the way many once did.

The practical effect: dues have risen sharply in older buildings, and special assessments — sometimes very large ones — have become common. Before your inspection period ends, read:

• The estoppel letter — current dues, any outstanding balance, and assessments already levied
• The reserve study and current budget — is the building actually funding its reserves?
• The milestone inspection report, if the building has had one
• Two years of board meeting minutes — this is where a coming assessment is discussed long before it is levied
• The rules on leasing — minimum lease terms and waiting periods matter enormously if you might rent it out later

Also confirm the project is warrantable for your loan type, and FHA or VA approved if you are using one of those programmes.

11. Closing

You will receive a Closing Disclosure at least three business days before closing. Read every line and compare it to your original Loan Estimate. Question anything that moved.

Do a final walkthrough in the 24 hours before closing. You are checking that the home is in the condition agreed, that agreed repairs were done, that everything included in the contract is still there, and that nothing broke during the move-out.

Bring government photo ID and your certified funds or wire confirmation. Then you get the keys.

12. After you close

1. File for homestead exemption with the county property appraiser. The deadline is 1 March of the year after you take title, and it is not automatic. This is real money every year, plus the Save Our Homes 3% assessment cap.
2. Update your driver's licence and vehicle registration within 30 days if you are new to Florida.
3. Keep every closing document. You will need them for taxes and for the eventual sale.
4. Set a reminder to review your insurance annually. Premiums here move a lot, and shopping it is worth doing.
5. Track your equity for PMI removal if you have a conventional loan — see the conventional guide.

13. Costly mistakes

• Budgeting on the mortgage alone. Insurance, flood, taxes and HOA can add 50% or more to the payment here.
• Assuming the seller's tax bill is yours. Assessed value resets roughly to your purchase price. Their Save Our Homes protection does not transfer to you.
• Leaving insurance to the last minute. The single most common cause of a delayed or dead closing in South Florida.
• Skipping the condo documents. A $40,000 special assessment discussed in last year's minutes is not the association's fault when it arrives.
• Opening new credit before closing. Lenders re-pull credit days before funding.
• Waiving inspection to win. Shorten the window instead.
• Borrowing to the top of the approval. The approval is a ceiling, not a recommendation.
• Trusting emailed wiring instructions. Always verify by phone.

This guide is general information for South Florida buyers, not legal, tax or financial advice, and not a loan commitment. Programme terms, loan limits, tax rules and insurance requirements change — verify current figures with your lender, a licensed insurance agent, the county property appraiser and, where appropriate, an attorney or CPA.