Jacksonville Home Loans: Buying and Refinancing in Florida’s Largest City

Jacksonville’s buyer programs

The City of Jacksonville’s Housing and Community Development Division runs Head Start to HOME Ownership, usually called H2H, with federal and state money. It covers down payment and closing costs as a 0% second or third mortgage over 10 years. The balance shrinks every year you live there, and if you sell or move out early you repay only the prorated share left.

• It’s for households at or below 80% of the area median income who don’t currently own a home.
• The city sets a maximum purchase price for single-family homes.
• H2H has funded hundreds of homes over the past several years, and the money for each year tends to go fast, so being pre-approved early matters.

The city has also put state SHIP money toward a program that builds new single-family homes with nonprofits and pairs them with down payment help for buyers at lower incomes. The Jacksonville Housing Finance Authority also lists Mortgage Credit Certificates, a federal tax credit on part of your mortgage interest each year, and we’ll check whether it’s available when you apply.

Our FHA loan pairs with H2H. Statewide, our FHA 100% option covers the down payment too, as does Hometown Heroes when the state has it funded. More Duval County options are on our Duval County guide.

Navy, Marines and VA buyers in Jacksonville

Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Naval Station Mayport, the Fleet Readiness Center and Marine Corps Blount Island Command are all in the area, with Kings Bay and Camp Blanding nearby. Defense supports tens of thousands of jobs in Duval County.

A VA loan lets eligible service members and veterans buy with no down payment and no monthly mortgage insurance, and the seller can pay closing costs. Orders to NAS Jax or Mayport can come with short notice, and a VA pre-approval done early lets you make an offer the week you arrive.

Jacksonville’s tax bill and JEA

Because the city and county are one government, a Jacksonville tax bill reads differently from most of Florida. Two city fees ride on it:

• Solid waste fee: trash pickup is billed as a flat yearly fee on the property tax bill, and the City Council sets the amount.
• Stormwater fee: the city bases it on how much hard surface your property has, and it has to be paid with the tax bill.

Because they’re on the tax bill, both get paid from your escrow account, and they’re in your payment estimate before you ever write an offer. The Duval County Property Appraiser takes homestead applications through March 1; file the first year you’re eligible, because the exemption and the cap on assessment increases start there.

JEA, the city’s utility, runs electric, water and sewer. It keeps its own internal credit score on accounts and can add a deposit if that score drops, so pay your first few bills on time and keep the account clean.

The city says it holds a Class 6 rating in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which discounts flood insurance in and out of the high-risk zones. Creeks and tributaries of the St. Johns River have flooded parts of the county, and the city’s floodplain coordinator can give you a flood zone determination or a copy of an elevation certificate. Get that answer before your inspection period ends.

Jacksonville neighborhoods

In Springfield and Riverside Avondale, windows, siding, fences, driveways and sheds all need a Certificate of Appropriateness. Approved certificates stay valid for a year, and five years once work begins.

Buying or refinancing in Jacksonville with AAA Capital Funding

We’ve been licensed in Florida since 1997 and close loans in all 67 Florida counties, Duval included. Call 888-601-8344 or text 954-816-8820 to get a pre-approval started, whether you’re buying across the river or refinancing at home.

Jacksonville questions we hear a lot