Home Key Plus Second Mortgage: Up to $10,000 DPA in Pinellas, Pasco & Polk

Most first-time buyers in Tampa Bay spend weeks chasing Hometown Heroes funding or waiting on SHIP allocations — without realizing a newer program quietly launched in May 2026 that could hand them $10,000 with far fewer restrictions.

The Home Key Plus Second Mortgage is administered by the Housing Finance Authorities of Pinellas, Pasco, and Polk counties. It was designed specifically for the buyers who fall through the cracks: households earning too much to qualify for low-income SHIP programs but still struggling to bridge the down payment gap in a market where median home prices hover around $420,000.

If you're buying in Clearwater, Palm Harbor, New Port Richey, Wesley Chapel, Lakeland, or anywhere else in those three counties, this program deserves a serious look before you assume down payment assistance isn't available to you. For a broader overview of every active DPA program across Tampa Bay, tampabaydownpayment.com tracks current programs, income tiers, and which ones are accepting applications.

How Much Does Home Key Plus Give You?

The assistance amount depends on the county where you're purchasing:

• Pinellas County: $10,000
• Pasco County: $7,500
• Polk County: $7,500

These funds arrive as a second mortgage at 0% interest with no monthly payment. They don't come out of your pocket upfront — they're applied directly at closing alongside your HFA first mortgage. The minimum you must contribute from your own funds is $1,000, which is one of the lowest cash-in requirements of any Florida DPA program.

Who Qualifies for Home Key Plus?

Credit Score

The minimum FICO score required is 660. That's 20 points higher than the 640 minimum for Florida Hometown Heroes, but still within reach for buyers who have spent time building their credit history before applying. If your score sits between 640 and 659, you may want to review our credit score improvement guide or explore Hometown Heroes as an alternative while you close that gap.

Income Limits

This is where Home Key Plus stands apart from SHIP programs. Income limits are set at the Area Median Income for each county, not the low-income thresholds that block many working buyers from SHIP assistance. For 2026:

By comparison, Hillsborough County's SHIP program caps income at roughly $72,000 for a family of four. Home Key Plus serves moderate-income households that SHIP consistently turns away — dual-income couples, young professionals in their 30s, and families who have been told they "make too much" for assistance.

First-Time Buyer Requirement

You must be a first-time homebuyer, defined as someone who has not owned a home as a primary residence in the past three years. There are exceptions for buyers in federally designated Target Areas and certain veterans. Your HFA-approved lender will verify this during underwriting.

Homebuyer Education

An 8-hour HUD-approved homebuyer education course is required. Florida offers free options online through eHome America and Framework. Completing the course not only satisfies the program requirement — it also earns you the Florida Housing homebuyer certificate needed for multiple other DPA programs. Read our full guide on how to get your homebuyer education certificate in Florida.

What Purchase Price Limits Apply?

The 2026 Home Key Plus purchase price caps are:

• Non-target areas: $544,232
• Federally designated Target Areas: $665,173

These limits are dramatically higher than most county SHIP programs. The Pinellas County Community Development DPA, for instance, caps purchase prices at $394,000. If you're eyeing a home priced between $394,000 and $544,000 in Pinellas County — say, a move-in-ready home in Safety Harbor or Seminole — Home Key Plus may be your only DPA option.

How Does the Second Mortgage Work?

The Home Key Plus loan is structured as a non-amortizing deferred second mortgage at 0% interest. That means:

• No monthly payment on the second mortgage
• No interest accruing on the balance
• The full amount is repaid when you sell, refinance, pay off your first mortgage, rent the property, or move out

This differs from forgivable programs like the HFA Plus Forgivable Loan, where the balance is cancelled after five years of owner-occupancy. With Home Key Plus, you will eventually repay the $7,500 or $10,000 — but without any interest cost and with no impact on your monthly cash flow while you live in the home.

Think of it as an interest-free loan from the county that you repay when you sell or refinance — typically years from now, using equity you've already built.

Which Loan Types Are Compatible?

Home Key Plus is designed to pair with an HFA first mortgage from the Housing Finance Authority, but it works across multiple loan types:

• FHA loans (3.5% down minimum)
• VA loans (0% down for eligible veterans)
• USDA Rural Development loans (0% down in eligible areas)
• Conventional loans (3% to 5% down)

If you're a veteran buying in Pinellas, Pasco, or Polk County, check out our VA loan guide — the combination of VA's zero-down benefit and Home Key Plus closing cost funds could get you into a home with virtually no cash out of pocket beyond your $1,000 minimum contribution.

How Do You Apply?

Home Key Plus is not applied for directly through the county — you apply through a participating HFA-approved lender. The process works like this:

1. Complete your homebuyer education course and obtain your Florida Housing certificate
2. Contact an HFA-approved participating lender in Pinellas, Pasco, or Polk County — the list is available on each county's Housing Finance Authority website
3. Get pre-approved for the HFA Home Key first mortgage with the Home Key Plus second mortgage layered in
4. Find your home within the applicable purchase price limits
5. Close with both mortgages funded simultaneously

The key step most buyers skip is finding a lender who is actively approved for the program. Not every lender participates. Barrett Henry at (813) 733-7907 can connect you with approved lenders who work with Home Key Plus regularly and know how to structure the transaction correctly.

Is Home Key Plus Better Than SHIP or Hometown Heroes?

It depends on your income and purchase price.

Choose SHIP if you earn below 80–120% of Area Median Income. SHIP programs in Pasco offer up to $65,000 — far more than Home Key Plus. If you qualify for SHIP, pursue it first.

Choose Home Key Plus if you earn too much for SHIP (over ~$83,000 household for a family of four) but still need help bridging the down payment gap. The $104,000+ income limits open this program to buyers SHIP would reject.

Choose Hometown Heroes if you work in an eligible occupation — healthcare, education, law enforcement, firefighting. Hometown Heroes provides up to $35,000 and pairs with its own first mortgage.

Compare all three before committing. The right answer changes based on your income, your target purchase price, your credit score, and whether any programs are currently accepting applications. Down payment assistance funds are often depleted mid-year. Knowing your options now — before you're under contract — puts you in the strongest position.

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Ready to find out which program fits your situation? Call Barrett Henry, REALTOR® at (813) 733-7907. With 23+ years of experience helping buyers across the Tampa Bay area, Barrett knows which programs have open funding, which lenders move fast, and how to layer assistance for maximum benefit. There's no cost to get started.