First-Time Home Buyer in Hollywood, FL: The $50,000 City Program and How to Use It

Short answer

Yes. The City of Hollywood First-Time Homebuyer Purchase Assistance Program offers up to $50,000 as a 0% deferred loan that is forgiven after 15 years in the home, for households up to 120% of area median income ($96,840 for one person, $138,360 for four) buying up to $636,806 inside the city's Neighborhood Pride area. You still need 3% of the first mortgage from your own funds. Figures are as of October 2026; funds are first-come, first-qualified and every loan is subject to credit approval.

How the City of Hollywood's $50,000 program works

Statewide rules are in our Florida first-time buyer guide. Hollywood adds its own program, run by the city with income certification by Broward County. As of October 2026 it offers:

• Amount: up to $50,000. Your first mortgage lender sets how much you can borrow, and the city fills the gap up to that cap.
• Terms: 0% interest, no monthly payment, 15-year term. Forgiven if the home stays your primary residence for the full 15 years.
• Shrinking payoff: if you sell, rent, stop living there or transfer the home early, you repay what is left. The amount due drops by 1/15 of the city's investment each year you complete.
• Income (120% of AMI): $96,840 for 1 person, $110,640 for 2, $124,440 for 3 and $138,360 for 4.
• Price cap: $636,806.
• Homes: detached single-family houses, townhomes and condos. Mobile homes, multi-unit buildings and co-ops are not eligible.
• First-time buyer: no ownership of a residence in the three years before you apply.

Questions go to Broward County at (954) 357-4905. Funds run first-come, first-qualified, first-served, and your lender places a soft reservation that holds money for 60 to 90 days.

The Hollywood rules that trip buyers up

These details decide whether you actually close with the money:

• Neighborhood Pride area only. The home must sit inside the city's Neighborhood Pride Eligibility Area, shown in blue on the city's map. A Hollywood address alone is not enough.
• 3% of your own money. You must document liquid assets of at least 3% of the first mortgage at application, from your own funds. VA buyers get no exception, and money already spent on the appraisal, inspections or application fees does not count.
• Asset ceiling. The program's lender guidelines (revised 2020) make a buyer with $100,000 or more in liquid assets ineligible, and also a buyer left with more than $50,000 after closing.
• Loan structure. The first mortgage must be a fixed-rate FHA, VA, conventional or bond loan, up to 30 years. Total financing cannot pass 105% of value, the first mortgage must be at least 50% of the appraised value, and total debt is capped at 45% of income (46% on FHA). The guidelines also cap lender closing costs at 2.5% and bar broker fees, so the first mortgage must come from a participating lender.
• Whole-house inspection. Roof, termites, electrical, plumbing and A/C, plus a city inspection. Older houses often need repairs first.
• Education. A HUD-approved homebuyer class from a South Florida agency, completed within 12 months of closing.

Hollywood prices against the limits

Hollywood is one of the few Broward cities where a median house still fits the first-time buyer programs. In Q2 2026 the city closed 321 single-family sales at a median of $560,000, flat (up 0.1%) from a year earlier, and 235 townhouse and condo sales at a median of $318,500, up 6.2% (Florida Realtors data published by MIAMI REALTORS, as of October 2026).

At the $560,000 median:

• FHA with 3.5% down: $19,600 down and a $540,400 base loan, inside Broward's 2026 FHA limit of $667,000.
• Conventional 97%: $16,800 down and a $543,200 loan, well inside the $832,750 conforming limit.
• City program: the price is under the $636,806 cap, so a qualifying household inside Neighborhood Pride could use up to $50,000 toward down payment and closing costs. The 3% own-funds rule still means documenting roughly $16,200 on the FHA base loan.

A median Hollywood condo at $318,500 needs about $11,148 down with FHA. The building has to be FHA-approved or pass a single-unit review, and the older beach and Intracoastal towers are where milestone inspections and assessments show up.

County, state and grant options for Hollywood buyers

Hollywood buyers can also look at county and state money. As of October 2026:

• Broward County HPA: the county's June 2026 funds flyer caps price at $679,324 and income at 80% or 120% of AMI ($106,440 for one person at 120%). Hollywood is on the flyer, but 24 of the 26 communities listed showed no funds. Confirm with the county at 954-357-4943.
• Florida Hometown Heroes: 5% of the first mortgage, $10,000 to $35,000, as a 0% deferred second repaid when you sell, refinance or move out. On a $540,400 FHA loan, 5% is $27,020. For eligible full-time workers (health care, schools, public safety, courts, child care), military and veterans. After 2025-2026 money ran out in February, it reopened on July 13, 2026 with $50 million, first-come, first-served.
• FL Assist and HFA PLUS: up to $10,000 deferred, or 3% to 5% forgiven over five years with Florida Housing's conventional loans. All Florida Housing seconds need a 640 score and a Florida Housing first mortgage.
• QMS forgivable down payment grant: 2% or 3.5% of the price with FHA, no second lien, 620 minimum score, and it works outside Neighborhood Pride and above the city's income limits. It cannot be stacked with another assistance program.

Hollywood's 105% combined-financing cap limits how much you can layer on top of the city loan. When the city program does not fit, the state programs or the QMS grant often do. All options: Florida down payment assistance page.

Hollywood property taxes and the monthly bill

Hollywood's city operating rate is high for Broward: 7.4479 mills for 2025, unchanged from 2024. Adding the 2025 Broward County, school board, South Broward Hospital District and special-district operating rates gives roughly 20.1 mills, about 2.0% of taxable value, before voted debt (as of October 2026). On a $560,000 house that is roughly $11,300 a year before the homestead exemption.

Other line items on a $560,000 FHA purchase:

• Upfront MIP: 1.75%, about $9,457, usually financed. Annual MIP is 0.55% at this loan size.
• Loan taxes: doc stamps on the note at $0.35 per $100 and the 2-mill intangible tax, about $1,925 and $1,100 on a financed loan of about $549,857.
• Insurance: much of the city east of Federal Highway, Hollywood Lakes and the beach is in a FEMA high-risk flood zone, where flood insurance is required. The city must also be named as additional mortgagee on your insurance if you use its loan.

Escrow for taxes and insurance is required with the city program. Ask us for a written estimate on the actual address. Rates vary daily; call for today's pricing.

Step by step in Hollywood

1. Check the address against the Neighborhood Pride map before anything else.

2. Line up your 3% in your own accounts, with statements that show it.

3. Get pre-approved and confirm your household income against the 120% AMI table and your debt-to-income ratio against the 45% cap.

4. Take the homebuyer class, then have the lender confirm funds and place a soft reservation before you sign.

5. Inspect, certify and close. The city inspects, Broward County certifies income, and funds are wired to the title company once the closing disclosure is final.

QMS Lending is an independent mortgage broker in Miami, FL, NMLS #1781090, bilingual in English and Spanish. See our Hollywood page for neighborhoods and condo notes. Call 305-425-1990. Equal Housing Opportunity.