Real math, real guides, and a licensed Keller Williams agent negotiating for you — not the seller.
Estimated max home price
$296,762
Max monthly housing payment
$2,150
Palm Beach County SHIP — Likely eligible
Up to $100,000 as a 0% deferred loan, forgiven after 30 years of primary residence.
Dollar-for-dollar Match Pilot — Likely eligible
Matches your savings up to $50,000 toward down payment and closing costs.
Estimates are for education only and don't constitute a mortgage pre-approval or a guarantee of program eligibility. Program details and income limits change — always verify with the program administrator and your lender.
A full walk-through of the home buying process — from pre-approval to closing day, and the 30 days after.
You just saw the rent-vs-buy math, DPA programs, and loan options. Now let's apply them to your real numbers — your income, your target neighborhoods, and your timeline.
Both are great — they just fit different buyers. Use this as a starting point, then confirm with your lender based on your credit, savings, and target price.
Loan limits and program rules change annually. Verify current numbers with your lender.
Enter a home price. See the check you'd write at closing for each common down payment tier.
Doesn't include closing costs, which typically run 2–5% of the price in Florida.
3% down
$12,000
3.5% down
$14,000
FHA minimum
5% down
$20,000
10% down
$40,000
20% down
$80,000
3% is the conventional first-time buyer minimum. 3.5% is the FHA minimum. 20% removes mortgage insurance on a conventional loan.
A seller concession is money the seller agrees, in writing, to credit the buyer at closing. It shows up as a line item on the final settlement statement and directly reduces the cash the buyer has to bring to the table. Concessions can be used to cover closing costs, prepaid escrows (taxes and insurance), a discount-point buydown that permanently lowers the mortgage rate, a temporary 2-1 buydown that lowers the payment for the first two years, or repairs uncovered during inspection. For a first-time buyer stretching every dollar, a concession is often the difference between closing this month and waiting another year to save.
Mechanically, concessions are baked into the purchase contract, not paid outside of closing. The listing side sees the same top-line sale price on the MLS, and the lender underwrites the deal at that price. What changes is that a portion of the proceeds flows back to the buyer's side of the settlement statement instead of to the seller. Loan programs cap how much can be credited: conventional loans allow up to 3% on primary residences with less than 10% down (6% above that), FHA allows up to 6%, and VA up to 4% for certain costs. We structure the offer to sit inside those caps so the appraisal and underwriter don't push back.
Here's why I fight for concessions on behalf of buyers instead of just chopping the price. If you take $10,000 off a $400,000 house, you save roughly $52 a month on a 30-year mortgage — and you still need that $10,000 in cash at closing for fees and escrows. If instead I negotiate a $10,000 seller concession at $400,000, you keep $10,000 in your bank account on day one, your emergency fund stays intact, and you can even redirect part of it into a rate buydown that saves you far more over the life of the loan. In a market where cash-to-close is the real bottleneck for first-time buyers, concessions are almost always more valuable than an equivalent price cut.
Concessions aren't automatic — they're negotiated. It takes reading the listing, understanding the seller's motivation (days on market, price drops, expired listings, life events, dual agency signals), and writing the offer in a way that gives the seller a clean, clear yes. My job as your buyer's agent is to find the leverage, structure the ask, and defend it through inspection and appraisal so the credit actually survives to the closing table. That work is what I do every week for South Florida buyers — and it's why "getting a good deal" almost never means just a low sale price. It means the right combination of price, concessions, and terms that lands you in the house with money still in the bank.
No fluff, no pitch. The real numbers, the programs most people don't know exist, and the Florida-specific costs that catch first-time buyers off guard.
Almost every first-time buyer I talk to believes they need 20% down. On a $400,000 house that's $80,000, and it's the single biggest reason people who could buy this year think they can't.
You need 20% down to avoid mortgage insurance. That's it. That's the whole rule. It is not a requirement to buy a house.
Yes, putting less down means a bigger monthly payment and mortgage insurance. That's a real trade-off worth understanding. But it's a different conversation from "I can't buy for five more years."
Florida runs down payment assistance programs through Florida Housing Finance Corporation. Most people who qualify have no idea they do.
This one surprises people, because eligibility is based on where you work, not your job title. If you're employed full-time by a qualifying employer, you're generally in the door — a cafeteria worker at a school and the principal are treated the same way.
The assistance comes as 5% of your loan amount, up to $35,000, at 0% interest with no monthly payment on it. It's a second mortgage that sits behind your first and is repaid when you sell, refinance, or pay off the home.
Funding is limited and first come, first served. Past rounds have been exhausted in a matter of weeks, not months.
You cannot reserve funds without being pre-approved with a Florida Housing–approved lender. That step is where people lose the money — they start the application after the funding is already gone.
Florida Housing also runs statewide first mortgage programs with their own assistance options, and Palm Beach County and several cities run local programs with their own income limits and requirements. Which one fits depends on your income, the price of the home, and where you're buying.
You do not have to decide this yourself. A good lender will run all of them and show you the actual monthly numbers side by side. If a lender only shows you one option, ask why.
Lower than you think, and it matters less than the number of people who've told you it matters.
Two things people get wrong. First, a low score doesn't disqualify you — it changes your rate and your options. Second, small fixes move scores fast. Paying a card down below 30% of its limit, or getting one collection removed, can move you 20 to 40 points in a couple of months.
Pull your own credit before you talk to anyone. Checking your own report doesn't hurt your score, and you'll know what you're working with.
The down payment is the number everyone focuses on. It isn't the only cash you need.
In much of Palm Beach County, homeowners insurance is one of the largest line items in your monthly payment — sometimes rivaling taxes. Roof age drives it enormously. A house with a new roof and impact windows can cost dramatically less to insure than an identical house down the street with a 20-year-old roof. Get an insurance quote before you're under contract, not after.
This one blindsides people. The tax figure shown on a listing is what the current owner pays — often protected by a homestead exemption and Florida's Save Our Homes cap that limits how fast their assessed value can rise. When the home sells, that protection resets and the property is reassessed at market value.
A house showing $3,600 in taxes can easily cost a new owner roughly double that. Ask your lender to estimate your taxes on the purchase price, not on the current bill.
If the home is your primary residence, file for homestead exemption with the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser. It reduces your taxable value and caps future increases. The deadline is March 1 for the following tax year, and it's free to file.
Flood isn't covered by standard homeowners insurance. If a property sits in a higher-risk flood zone, your lender will require flood insurance and it's an added monthly cost. Zone X is generally the lowest risk. Ask for the flood zone on any home before you fall in love with it.
Realistically: 30 to 45 days from accepted offer to keys, assuming financing. Cash closes faster.
Bring these to the first call. The answers tell you quickly whether you're talking to someone who'll actually work for you.
That last one is the most useful question in the list, and almost nobody asks it.
Tell me where you're starting from — what you've got saved, roughly where your credit sits, and when you'd want to move. I'll put together a plan specific to your situation and send it over, along with my full first-time buyer guide.
Get my free planNo cost. No obligation. Whether you buy this year or in three.
Educational content only. Not lending, legal, or tax advice. Loan terms, program eligibility, insurance costs, and tax figures vary by borrower and property and are determined by licensed lenders, insurers, and the county property appraiser. Assistance programs are administered by Florida Housing Finance Corporation; funding is limited and eligibility is determined by an approved lender. I am not a lender. Figures shown are illustrative examples, not quotes or offers.
Plain-English breakdowns of the loan programs South Florida buyers use most.
What an FHA loan really costs, the MIP catch, FHA vs. conventional, and how to stack it with Florida assistance.
Read the guideQué es el FHA, cuánto cuesta de verdad, el problema del MIP, y cómo combinarlo con la ayuda de Florida.
Read the guideA 30-minute call to review your numbers, timeline, and target neighborhoods. No pressure, no auto-drip emails — just honest guidance from a licensed Keller Williams REALTOR® in South Florida.
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South Florida market breakdowns, buyer tips, and honest deal math — every week.