Polk County Lenders

Residency Requirements for Polk County: Buyers must have established residency in Polk County over the last 12 months.

Additionally, a buyer who does not meet the minimum residency requirement, but currently works within Polk County, is eligible for program assistance.

HANDS of Central Florida, Inc. provides financial assistance to very low, low or moderate income households purchasing homes to be occupied as their primary residence. We administer State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) program funds for Polk County and the City of Lakeland. (HANDS no longer administers downpayment assistance for the City of Winter Haven.) SHIP funds provide down payment and closing cost assistance to eligible homebuyers who have secured first mortgage financing. HANDS’ programs are HUD acceptable to provide secondary financing for FHA insured and Conventional mortgage loans. GAP program down payment assistance varies depending on the income level of the buyer and the local government assistance program guidelines. Down payment and closing cost assistance is secured by a soft second mortgage.

Down Payment Assistance Availability

City of Lakeland (inside the city limits): Funding available for the City of Lakeland at this time is for Moderate, Low, and Very-Low income households.
Unincorporated Polk County: Funding available for Moderate, Low, and Very-Low income households
HANDS of Central Florida, Inc. is no longer administering this program for the City of Winter Haven. Please contact Cedric Cox @ (863) 274-8658 or ccox@mywinterhaven.com

Please review the GAP MANUAL for complete program details. Registration form can be found below (Downloads).

Downloads:

GAP MANUAL
SHIP LENDER REGISTRATION FORM (Please complete checklist Page 2 of the Registration by providing all the supporting documents WITH your Registration form. The appraisal if ordered and not yet available, may be noted as such, and submitted when completed.) Please also make certain that the accompanying Sales Contract is due to close a minimum of 21 - 120 days from the Registration submittal to HANDS. Average downpayment funding approvals in peak periods take 60-70 days.