FHA Loans in Florida

What an FHA loan is and who it fits in Florida

FHA does not lend money. It insures loans made by approved lenders, which lets those lenders accept smaller down payments and lower credit scores than on a conventional loan. You can buy a one- to four-unit home you will live in, including a condo in an eligible project, with a 30- or 15-year fixed rate, and a qualified buyer can assume the loan when you sell. In Florida it fits the first-time buyer in Tampa or Jacksonville with 3.5 percent down and a gift from family, the buyer in Orlando whose credit took a hit a few years ago, and the household in Fort Myers whose student loans push the debt-to-income ratio (DTI), the share of monthly income that goes to debt payments, past what conventional allows.

FHA loan requirements in Florida

• Down payment. A minimum investment of 3.5 percent of the price or appraised value, whichever is less, with a credit score of 580 or higher. From 500 to 579 the loan is capped at 90 percent of value, which means 10 percent down; below 500 is not eligible. HUD restated the tiers in Mortgagee Letter 2026-11, dated October 8, 2026.
• Credit history. FHA reads the pattern, not just the score: collections, judgments and recent late payments are reviewed, and waiting periods apply after a bankruptcy or foreclosure.
• Income. Two years of work history with pay stubs, W-2s and returns, or two years of returns if you are self-employed, showing income that is stable and likely to continue.
• Debt-to-income ratio. FHA's automated underwriting approves higher ratios than conventional when the rest of the file is strong; manual underwriting uses tighter limits.
• Occupancy. The home must be your primary residence. A two- to four-unit where you live in one unit qualifies; second homes and pure rentals do not.
• Funds. The down payment can be entirely a gift from family, an employer or a qualifying nonprofit. The seller or another interested party can pay up to 6 percent of the price toward closing costs, prepaid items and points, but not toward the 3.5 percent itself.
• The property. An FHA appraiser checks HUD's minimum property requirements: safe, sound and secure, no peeling paint on a pre-1978 home, a working heat source, and a roof with life left in it.

Lenders add their own overlays on top of HUD's rules, a 620 minimum score for example, which is why the same borrower is approved at one FHA lender and declined at another. That is the part I shop.

FHA loan limits in Florida for 2026

FHA sets a limit by county each year. For 2026 the one-unit floor is $541,287 and most Florida counties sit at it. Higher-cost counties get a higher limit based on local median prices, up to a national ceiling of $1,249,125 that no Florida county reaches; Monroe County, the Keys, has the highest in the state. The limits apply to case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2026, per HUD Mortgagee Letter 2025-23, dated December 11, 2025.

The limit caps the base loan amount, before the financed upfront premium is added, not the price: a buyer in Tampa can buy above $541,287 by putting more down. Above the limit, a conventional loan up to the $832,750 conforming limit or a jumbo loan takes over.

FHA mortgage insurance in plain words

Mortgage insurance premium (MIP) is what you pay FHA for insuring the lender. There are two pieces, set by HUD in Mortgagee Letter 2023-05, effective for loans endorsed on or after March 20, 2023.

• Upfront premium. 1.75 percent of the base loan amount, almost always added to the loan and financed. Florida's documentary stamp tax on the note is figured on the full note, which includes the financed premium.
• Annual premium. For a 30-year loan with the minimum 3.5 percent down and a base loan amount at or below $726,200, 0.55 percent of the balance per year, collected monthly, for the life of the loan. With at least 10 percent down it drops to 0.50 percent and ends after 11 years. Base loan amounts above $726,200 pay 0.70 to 0.75 percent, and 15-year loans pay less.

Because the annual premium on a minimum-down loan never falls off, the usual plan is to refinance into a conventional loan once you have 20 percent equity and a score that prices well. Florida's note stamps and intangible tax apply to that refinance, so it has to clear a slightly higher bar than in Connecticut.

FHA loans on Florida condos since the 2022 reforms

A condo unit is FHA-eligible two ways. The project can be on HUD's approved list, which requires the association to meet rules on owner occupancy, the share of units with FHA loans, commercial space, reserves, delinquencies and litigation, and to recertify every three years. Or, since 2019, a single unit can be approved on its own in a completed project of at least five units that is not on the list, if the project passes a shorter review and the share of FHA loans stays under a cap.

Florida's post-Surfside rules add a layer. Buildings three stories or taller must complete milestone inspections at 30 years (25 in some jurisdictions) and structural integrity reserve studies every ten years, and from the 2025 budgets on, associations cannot vote to waive the reserves those studies call for. The questionnaire now asks about the inspection, the study, special assessments and litigation, and a building that has not done the work will usually fail FHA review. I ask the association for the documents before you spend money on an appraisal; the Florida mortgage broker hub has more on the condo rules.

Flood, wind and the FHA appraisal in Florida

• Flood. If any part of the home is in a FEMA special flood hazard area, FHA requires flood insurance for the life of the loan, and the premium counts in your qualifying payment. New construction in a flood zone needs an elevation certificate showing the lowest floor at or above the base flood elevation.
• Wind. Not an FHA rule, but your homeowners policy will carry a hurricane deductible and must be bound before closing. A wind mitigation inspection can lower the premium, and the insurer may require a four-point inspection on an older home.
• Appraisal. FHA appraisers in Florida watch roof condition, peeling paint on pre-1978 homes, pool safety barriers and termite damage; a wood-destroying organism inspection is common and the appraiser can require one.
• Repairs. Required repairs must be done before closing, or the purchase can be structured as an FHA 203(k) renovation loan that finances them.

Closing costs, seller credits and pairing FHA with Florida Housing

An FHA buyer in Florida pays the lender's fees, appraisal, lender's title policy, recording, prepaid interest, the first year of insurance, escrow deposits, the documentary stamp tax on the note at 35 cents per $100 of the loan, and the intangible tax on the mortgage at 2 mills, which is 0.2 percent of the loan. The deed stamps and owner's title policy are usually the seller's by custom. The seller can credit up to 6 percent of the price toward your side, which is how many Florida FHA buyers close with little more than the 3.5 percent. Rates are on the Florida Department of Revenue site.

• Choose FHA when your score is in the 600s, your DTI is high, or your down payment is a gift. The mortgage insurance costs the same regardless of score, which is the whole advantage at lower scores.
• Choose conventional when your score is in the 700s and you have at least 5 percent down, because private mortgage insurance prices by score and drops off at 20 percent equity without a refinance.
• Pair FHA with Florida Housing when you are a first-time buyer under the county limits: a Florida First FHA mortgage with Florida Assist, the FL HLP second or Hometown Heroes behind it can cover the whole down payment. See first-time home buyer programs in Florida.

Rates change daily and FHA and conventional move differently on different days, so the only honest comparison is a quote on your file, both ways, on the same afternoon. Send me your credit range, your down payment and where it comes from, your income picture and the county you are shopping in, and I will tell you which fits.