Hollywood, Florida Homebuyer and Refinance Guide

Name: AAA Capital Funding Mortgage Services
Brand: AAA Capital Funding, Inc.
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Joseph W. Young laid out Hollywood in the 1920s as a planned city, and you can still read his plan on a map: the circle downtown, the beach Broadwalk and the east-west streets named after presidents. The city incorporated in 1925 and now holds about 157,000 people between Fort Lauderdale and Miami-Dade.

Young’s original plan even included two yacht basins tied to the Intracoastal. If you’re buying or refinancing here, these are the parts that are particular to Hollywood: the city’s purchase assistance and the boundary it depends on, the Broward tax bill items, flood maps, and the neighborhoods that grew up around Young’s plan.

Every source for this page is listed at the bottom.

CountyBroward
IncorporatedNovember 28, 1925
PopulationAbout 157,000
FHA limit, 1 unit$667,000 in 2026
City buyer programFirst-Time Homebuyer Purchase Assistance
Beach Broadwalk2.2 miles, first built 1923
Tri-Rail stationsHollywood and Sheridan Street
Homestead filingBroward County Property Appraiser

Neighborhoods
City purchase assistance
Your tax bill
Flood maps
Loans we close here
Questions

Hollywood neighborhoods, from Young’s plan outward

The presidential streets

Young gave 27 east-west streets the names of presidents, Washington through Harding, with Coolidge at the north end. They hold more than 10,000 homes, and a few houses from the early 1920s still stand on Madison and Pierce streets.

Liberia

Young founded Liberia in northwest Hollywood during segregation as a neighborhood for Black residents. It’s now more than a century old and holds Hollywood’s first State Historical Marker.

Hollywood Lakes

The Lakes Section is one of Hollywood’s established neighborhoods, and it has its own civic association.

Emerald Hills

Emerald Hills is built around The Club at Emerald Hills golf course.

Downtown and Young Circle

Young gave the 10-acre circle park to the city with a clause that returns it if it’s ever used otherwise. Hollywood Boulevard’s historic business district is on the National Register, and Young’s own 1925 house still stands at 1055 Hollywood Boulevard.

Hollywood Hills and the west side

Hollywood Hills, Driftwood, Lawn Acres, Highland Gardens and Royal Poinciana are among the city’s other named neighborhoods. The Seminole Hard Rock, which opened its guitar-shaped hotel in 2019, is one of the area’s biggest employers.

Hollywood’s First-Time Homebuyer Purchase Assistance

The City of Hollywood offers purchase assistance for first-time buyers, and Broward County’s Housing Finance Division runs it on the city’s behalf. It’s a 0% deferred loan over 15 years with no monthly payment. Live in the home for the full 15 years and it’s satisfied. Sell or change how you use the house before then, and you owe a share that drops by one-fifteenth each year you’ve stayed.

The home has to sit inside the city’s Neighborhood Pride Eligibility Area. That boundary is the first thing we check, before you make an offer.
Household income can go up to 120% of the area median.
You can’t have owned a home in the past three years, with a few listed exceptions.
The program asks for a 3% minimum down payment of your own, which our FHA program already covers with its 3.5%.
You’ll finish a homebuyer class within 12 months before closing, and the county holds the money for your file once it’s reserved.

Funding is first come, first qualified. Your lender confirms with Broward County that money is available before the reservation is made, and that’s a step we handle for you.

If the house falls outside the eligibility area, Broward County’s own programs, Hometown Heroes when it’s funded, and our FHA 100% option are the next places we look. The county programs are covered on our Broward County guide.

What shows up on a Hollywood tax bill

Fire rescue assessment: Hollywood charges each home a flat yearly fire rescue fee on the tax bill, and the city sets it each year.
City levies: Hollywood charges its own operating rate, and voters have approved debt for city projects on top of it.

Every one of those lines lands in your monthly escrow, so they’re in the payment we quote you on day one. Homestead is the other piece: once you own and live in the house on January 1, you have until March 1 to file with the Broward County Property Appraiser.

Flood maps and coastal Hollywood

Broward’s updated FEMA flood maps took effect July 31, 2024, and they redrew flood zones across the county, Hollywood included. Look up the current zone on any house you’re considering, not the one in an older listing.

If the home is in a high-risk zone, your lender will require flood insurance on an FHA, VA or Conventional loan, and the premium needs to be in your numbers before you sign. Elevation and the age of the house both matter for the premium, so ask the seller for an elevation certificate if one exists.

Buying or refinancing in Hollywood with AAA Capital Funding

Hollywood’s big employers include Memorial Regional Hospital, HEICO’s headquarters, Chewy, the cruise lines and the city itself, and the city has two Tri-Rail stations.

Little or nothing down

Our FHA program needs 3.5% down with a 580 or higher score, and FHA 100% adds an assistance second to cover that down payment. Stronger credit? A Conventional loan needs as little as 3% down for first-time buyers. Veterans can buy with a VA loan and no down payment.

Older houses that need work

Hollywood has plenty of older houses, some going back to the 1920s. An FHA 203(k) loan lets you buy the house and finance the repairs in one loan.

Self-employed

A bank statement loan qualifies you on your deposits when your tax returns understate what you earn.

Refinancing

A refinance can lower your payment or pull cash for impact windows, a roof or debt payoff. You’ll see the old payment next to the new one before anything is signed.

We’ve been licensed in Florida since 1997, our office is a short drive north in Fort Lauderdale, and we close loans in all 67 Florida counties. Call 888-601-8344 or text 954-816-8820 with the address and we’ll check the Neighborhood Pride boundary for you.

Before you write an offer in Hollywood, look at our Homebuyers Outreach Program. Buyers in Broward can qualify for a credit toward closing costs, and one call tells you what it’s worth on your price range.

Hollywood questions we hear a lot

How do I know if a Hollywood house qualifies for city assistance?

It has to sit inside the city’s Neighborhood Pride Eligibility Area. Send us the address and we’ll check it before you make an offer.

What happens to the Hollywood assistance if I sell early?

You repay a share that shrinks by one-fifteenth for every year you’ve lived there. After 15 years in the home, you owe nothing.

Do I need flood insurance in Hollywood?

Your lender requires it if the house sits in a high-risk flood zone. Broward’s maps changed on July 31, 2024, so check the current zone, and we’ll quote coverage before you’re committed.

Can I buy an older Hollywood house that needs repairs?

Yes, an FHA 203(k) loan finances the purchase and the repairs together, so you’re not paying cash for the work after closing.

Sources for this page

AAA Capital Funding, Inc. NMLS #374739. Jason J. Sarji, NMLS #374700. Licensed Florida mortgage broker serving Hollywood and all 67 Florida counties since 1997. Equal Housing Opportunity.

You work with the same person from start to finish, in every county in Florida.

We've been closing Florida loans since 1997, in all 67 counties. If you want to know what's possible in Hollywood, call 888-601-8344 or text 954-816-8820. One call, under ten minutes. No application needed to start.

Get Started Call 888-601-8344 Text 954-816-8820

AAA Capital Funding, Inc. · NMLS #374739 · Jason J. Sarji, NMLS #374700