First-time buyers

Your first Florida home, explained without the jargon.

You’ve never done this before. That’s fine — I’ll explain every step, and I won’t make you feel stupid for asking.

First, some honesty about the market you’re walking into

First-time buyers are a smaller share of the market than at any point since records began — 21% in the most recent national survey, with a median age of 40. Two decades ago that share sat around 40%.

I tell you this not to discourage you, but so you know that if buying feels harder than it did for your parents, you’re not imagining it and it isn’t a personal failing. It also means the buyers who do get it done are the ones who understood the real costs early instead of finding out at the closing table.

21%First-time buyer share of the market — an all-time low
40Median age of a first-time buyer in the U.S.
10 wksMedian time buyers spend searching
$3,815Average Florida home insurance premium per year

Five things that decide whether you can afford a Florida house

None of these are the sale price, and none of them show up on Zillow. This is where first-time buyers get blindsided, and it’s the part of my job I care most about.

Deal killer #1
Insurance, and whether the house can even be insured

Florida’s average homeowners premium runs around $3,815 a year — roughly 40–50% above the national average. Rates have finally started easing: the state-backed insurer filed for an average 8.7% decrease and 73 private carriers filed reductions. But “easing” still means a number that can move your monthly payment by hundreds of dollars.

Worse, some houses simply can’t be insured affordably at all. You need a real quote in hand during your inspection period, not after. I’ll connect you with a licensed insurance agent to get one while you can still walk away.
Deal killer #2
The age of the roof

Carriers care more about roof age than almost anything else. An older roof can mean a refused policy, which means no mortgage, which means no closing — even when the inspection says the roof is fine. On the flip side, a wind mitigation inspection on a newer roof can earn discounts in the range of 15–50%.

I check roof age against current underwriting before you write an offer, not after.
Watch for
Flood zone — and it’s not just waterfront

Plenty of Central Florida homes nowhere near a lake sit in a flood zone, and the zone changes your premium and sometimes your loan requirements. Zone X versus Zone AE is a meaningful monthly difference. I pull the zone and, where it matters, the elevation, so you see the real number.
Watch for
HOA dues — and CDD fees, which are different

Many newer Central Florida communities, especially around Davenport, Champions Gate and the US-27 corridor, carry a CDD assessment on top of HOA dues. It pays off the infrastructure bonds for the development, it can run several hundred dollars a month, and it is easy to miss when you’re comparing two houses at the same price.

I put HOA and CDD side by side as a real monthly cost before you fall for the amenity photos.
Budget for
Closing costs and the first-year surprises

Beyond your down payment there are closing costs, prepaid insurance and taxes, and the first-year expenses nobody warns you about — a water softener, a fence, blinds for nine windows, the AC service you didn’t budget for. We’ll build a realistic number at the start so your offer price reflects what you can actually carry.

You may need less cash than you think

Florida runs down payment assistance programs that a lot of first-time buyers never hear about because nobody told them to ask.

Florida Hometown Heroes

For Florida’s frontline workforce — and eligibility is based on your employer and where you work, not your job title, which is broader than most people assume. As most recently published, the program offers 5% of the loan amount as down payment and closing cost assistance, with a $10,000 minimum and $35,000 maximum, structured as a 0% interest second mortgage with no monthly payment until you sell or refinance.

No ownership interest in a primary residence in the past 3 years — with exemptions for veterans and for buyers in certain designated areas
640 minimum credit score, homebuyer education, and pre-approval through a Florida Housing approved lender
County-by-county income limits apply — Polk, Hillsborough and Orange all differ
Funding is allocated first-come, first-served and it does run out. Being pre-approved before you need it is the whole game

Program terms and funding availability change. I’ll tell you what I’m seeing and point you to a Florida Housing approved lender who can confirm current status and whether you qualify — I’m a real estate licensee, not a lender.

How this actually goes, in order

Seven steps. The order matters, and most of the mistakes I see come from doing step four before step two.

We talk, and you commit to nothing

An hour on Zoom the phone or in person. What you want, where you’re looking, what your timeline really is. If the answer is “maybe next spring,” that’s a perfectly good answer and I’ll still answer your questions.
You get pre-approved — before you look at a single house

Not pre-qualified. Pre-approved, with a lender who has actually looked at your documents. This tells you your real number, and in a competitive situation it’s the difference between an offer being taken seriously and being ignored.
We build your real monthly number

Principal and interest, plus taxes, plus insurance, plus HOA, plus CDD if there is one. This is the number that decides what you can buy — not the list price.
We sign a buyer agreement, and I explain every line

Since 2024, this is required before I can tour homes with you, including virtual tours. It’s an agreement with Haven Realty covering what I do and how I’m paid. I’ll walk you through it line by line and answer anything before you sign. It’s negotiable, and you should treat it that way.
We go see houses

And I tell you what I see, including the things that would cost me a commission to mention. Water stains, a roof that’s at the end of its life, a fresh coat of paint over something.
We write an offer, and inspections begin

This is when the due diligence report gets built — insurance quote, roof age, flood zone, permit history, HOA and CDD costs. All of it while you can still walk away.
You close, and I don’t disappear

You get a contractor list, help with the homestead exemption filing deadline, and someone to call the first time something breaks.

Every buyer I work with gets a due diligence report

Delivered during your inspection period, while you still have the right to walk away. Included with my representation — you pay only third-party costs such as the inspection itself.

A real insurance quote from a licensed agent — a bindable number, not an estimate
Roof age against current underwriting rules — will a carrier actually write this house
Flood zone and elevation, and what each does to the premium
Permit history — what was done to this house, and whether anyone pulled a permit for it
HOA and CDD rules and real monthly cost, in plain English
A walkthrough of the whole thing — line by line, until it makes sense to you

My promise to you

If a house is wrong for you, I’ll tell you — in writing, before your inspection period closes.

The roof, the insurance quote, the flood zone, the HOA rules. I’ll put my concerns in writing while you can still walk away, even when it costs me the commission. Your first house should not be the one you regret.

Questions first-time buyers actually ask me

The ones people apologize for asking. Don’t apologize — ask them.

How much do I need for a down payment?

Less than the 20% you’ve probably heard. FHA loans can go as low as 3.5% down, conventional programs can start around 3%, and VA and USDA loans can reach 0% for buyers who qualify — a lot of Polk County outside the city limits is USDA-eligible. Layer Florida down payment assistance on top and the cash you need at closing can drop substantially. A lender can tell you your actual number in one conversation.

Do I have to sign something just to look at houses?

To tour homes with me, yes — a written buyer agreement has been required since August 2024, including for live virtual tours. But you do not need to sign anything to talk to me, ask questions, or get my read on a neighborhood. And the agreement is negotiable: its length, its scope, and how compensation works are all things we discuss before you sign. I’ll go through it line by line.

What does it cost me to work with you?

My compensation is set out in writing in the buyer agreement before you sign it — a specific amount or rate, never open-ended. In many transactions the seller offers compensation that covers some or all of it, but that is negotiated deal by deal and it is not guaranteed, so we plan for both cases from the start. I’m a sales associate with Haven Realty, and all compensation is paid through the brokerage.

My credit isn’t great. Should I even bother?

Talk to a lender before you decide you can’t. Some programs go down to a 620 or 640 score, and a lender can often tell you the two or three specific things that would move your number enough to qualify — sometimes within a few months. Finding that out costs you nothing and beats assuming.

Is it cheaper to buy new construction?

Sometimes, and builders in Central Florida have been offering real incentives. But new construction in this area often carries a CDD assessment, and the builder’s sales agent represents the builder, not you. You can bring your own representation to a new construction purchase and it’s usually wise to, particularly around the contract terms and the walkthrough.

How long does the whole thing take?

Buyers nationally spend a median of about ten weeks searching, then typically 30 to 45 days from accepted offer to closing. So plan on a few months from serious start to keys, and longer if you’re waiting on a specific type of house or a specific neighborhood.

What’s the homestead exemption and do I need to do something?

Florida’s homestead exemption reduces the taxable value of your primary residence and caps how fast your assessed value can rise. You have to file for it with your county property appraiser, and there’s an annual deadline of March 1. I’ll remind you after closing, because missing it costs you a year. For anything about your specific tax situation, your county property appraiser or a tax professional is the right authority — not me.

Start wherever you want

Browse listings on your own, or book an hour and we’ll figure out what’s realistic. Either one is a fine first move.

Book a call Search homes Call (863) 398-6243

Vince Reina, Licensed Real Estate Sales Associate · FL #SL3302950
Haven Realty — Licensed Florida Real Estate Brokerage · (863) 398-6243

Equal Housing Opportunity REALTOR^® · MLS

Figures on this page are current as of September 2026 and come from public sources including the National Association of REALTORS® 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, published Florida insurance market reporting, and Florida Housing Finance Corporation program materials. They are general market information, not a prediction or a quote for any particular property. Insurance premiums, loan terms, assistance program funding, tax assessments and HOA or CDD costs vary by property and by buyer — verify your own numbers with a licensed insurance agent, a lender, your county property appraiser and a tax professional. Nothing here is legal, tax, insurance or lending advice.