The Book · 2026–2027 Edition
Make Florida Your Home
The Insider's Guide to Down Payment Assistance, Hometown Heroes, and Buying Your First Florida Home Without Draining Your Savings
Written by Phil Ganz, Mortgage Expert · NMLS #37833
Published August 11, 2026 · Page updated August 20, 2026
Every chapter links to free online tools — no credit pull, no obligation.
Program data verified against Florida Housing Finance Corporation and county program administrators.
Inside the Book
Last year, Florida handed out $50 million in down payment help. It was claimed in about six months — by the buyers who knew to ask.
Most Florida renters believe the down payment is the wall between them and owning a home. Here's what almost nobody tells them: Florida has quietly built one of the most generous homebuyer assistance systems in the country — 105 separate programs across all 67 counties, from the statewide Hometown Heroes program (up to $35,000 at 0% interest with no monthly payment) to county and city programs that reach six figures.
The money is real. It's first-come, first-served. And nobody's job is to tell you it exists.
In this plain-English guide, Phil Ganz — a nationally ranked top 1% mortgage originator who has helped thousands of families buy homes — walks you through every door in the wall:
Every chapter ends with a QR code to free, continuously updated online tools — eligibility checkers, calculators, and a live county-by-county program map — so this book never goes stale. No credit pull. No obligation. No folklore.
The wall has a door. This book hands you the handle.
The Book Links to Free Tools on This Site
Every chapter ends with a QR code to a continuously updated tool or guide here on MakeFloridaYourHome.com. They're free with or without the book.
Florida DPA Interactive Map
Every down payment assistance program in all 67 counties, on one live map.
Florida DPA Calculator
Size up your down payment assistance options for the county you're buying in.
Hometown Heroes Program Guide
Eligibility rules, income limits, and funding status for Florida's largest DPA program.
105 Grants & Programs Guide
The complete list of Florida first-time home buyer grants and programs.
Down Payment Assistance Hub
How Florida DPA works — forgivable loans, deferred seconds, and grants.
FHA Loan Guide
The first-time buyer's loan of choice — 3.5% down with flexible credit.
Choose Your Edition
Same book, three formats — pick how you like to read.
Kindle eBook
Instant delivery. Read on any device.
Buy on AmazonPaperback
The everyday print edition.
Buy on AmazonHardcover
Durable and gift-ready.
Buy on AmazonPrefer Google Play Books? That edition is coming soon.
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NMLS #37833 · Verify on NMLS Consumer Access
About the Author
Phil Ganz, Mortgage Expert
Phil Ganz is a nationally ranked top 1% mortgage originator and President of Next Wave Mortgage (NMLS #2536820), the Fort Lauderdale-based lender behind MakeFloridaYourHome.com. Over 26+ years in the mortgage industry, he has helped thousands of families move from “maybe someday” to keys-in-hand.
He wrote Make Florida Your Home for one reason: Florida's homebuyer assistance money is real, generous, and chronically unclaimed — because nobody's job is to tell buyers it exists. The book turns the 105-program landscape he navigates daily into a plain-English plan any first-time buyer can follow.
Phil specializes in Florida home financing — first-time buyers, down payment assistance layering, self-employed income, and VA benefits — and holds individual NMLS license #37833.
Read Phil's full profileFrequently Asked Questions
Quick answers about the book, the editions, and the free tools behind every chapter. Can't find what you're looking for?
Talk to an ExpertFlorida renters and first-time buyers — especially anyone who believes the down payment puts homeownership out of reach. Florida counts you as a first-time buyer if you haven't owned a home in the past 3 years, so the book applies to far more people than most expect. If you're planning to buy anywhere in Florida in the next year or two, this is the playbook.
The complete Florida home-buying landscape: a full chapter on the Hometown Heroes program, how to navigate all 105 down payment assistance programs across 67 counties, an honest comparison of FHA, VA, USDA, and 3%-down conventional loans, what Florida really costs — insurance, flood zones, and doc stamps — plus a 90-day plan from first calculator to closing and the nine preventable mistakes that kill deals.
Yes — it was built for that. This is the 2026–2027 edition, and every chapter ends with a QR code to continuously updated tools on this site, where income limits, funding status, and program details are maintained as Florida Housing and county agencies update them.
No. The eligibility checkers, calculators, and the county-by-county program map are free on this website, with no credit pull and no obligation. The book pulls everything together into a start-to-finish plan — the tools are free either way.
Phil Ganz is a nationally ranked top 1% mortgage originator, a licensed loan originator (NMLS #37833), and President of Next Wave Mortgage in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He has spent 26+ years in the mortgage industry and has helped thousands of families buy homes, with a focus on Florida first-time buyers and down payment assistance programs.
The content is identical in all three. Kindle delivers instantly and is the least expensive, the paperback is the everyday print edition, and the hardcover is the durable, gift-ready version. A Google Play Books edition is coming soon.
Start Before You Finish Chapter One
The book gives you the plan. The free tools tell you what you qualify for — no credit pull, no obligation.