Mortgage & Homebuying Guides

Our mortgage and homebuying guides for Florida, written by a licensed originator and grouped by where you are in the process.

If you are not sure where to begin, start with how much house you can afford, because every other decision follows from that number. Then read pre-approval before you view anything, since Florida sellers rarely consider an offer without a letter.

Getting started

Special situations

Comparison guides

Investor and specialty

Start here

If you want one page that covers the whole purchase in order, read the
complete Florida mortgage guide for 2026. It links
through to everything below at the point each decision arrives.

Florida specifics

These cover the parts of buying here that have no equivalent in national advice.

Three things these guides keep coming back to

Read enough of them and a pattern emerges, because Florida changes the usual advice in three specific ways.

Insurance is not a footnote here. Premiums feed the ratio a lender uses to approve you, so they decide what you can borrow, not just what you pay afterwards. Quote insurance in week one of your contract, every time.

Mortgage insurance often matters more than the rate. FHA insurance at a low down payment runs for the life of the loan, while conventional insurance ends at 20% equity. Over a decade that gap frequently outweighs a quarter point of rate.

Condominiums are reviewed as hard as you are. Since the post-Surfside reserve rules took effect, a building’s finances can end a loan no matter how strong your file is. Check the project before the inspection period closes.

Whatever stage you are at, you can request a free quote with no credit pull.