Do private and charter school teachers qualify for Hometown Heroes?

Florida Housing’s school staff group covers full-time employees of a Florida-based K-12 public, private, charter or magnet school, so teachers at private and charter schools fall within it. The first-time buyer and county income rules apply as well.

Do cafeteria workers and custodians qualify?

Yes, as Florida Housing lists them. Its school staff examples include food service and cafeteria staff and maintenance and janitorial staff, alongside teachers, aides, administrators, counselors and librarians, when employed full time by a Florida-based K-12 school.

Do college and university employees qualify under the school staff group?

No. The school staff group covers K-12 schools. A college or university employee may still fall under another group, such as healthcare at a university hospital or a sworn officer in a campus police department, so check the full list.

When is the best time for a teacher to buy a home?

The school calendar helps: a spring contract can close in early summer and leave the break for the move. Homes near popular schools can draw more buyers in spring and early summer, so line up the pre-approval and the education course early.

Do I have to buy in the county where I teach?

The limits that apply are those of the county where the home is, and a lender confirms how the program’s rules apply to your purchase. Many school employees look across a county line, where the limits and prices can be quite different.

Homebuyer Programs for Teachers & School Staff in Florida

For everyone who keeps a school running, not just the classroom

BreakThru Realty helps Florida homebuyers find the homeownership programs worth asking about, understand how each one shapes the home search, connect with participating lenders, and find homes that fit. For school employees the program is Florida Hometown Heroes, which covers far more of the building than the teachers, and the search is shaped by the school calendar and by where a county’s limits let you buy.

BreakThru Realty · Founder and Broker of Record: Tyson E. Sam, Florida License 3565210

See which programs are worth asking about · Homes within the limits

Every Role in the School Counts

Florida Housing’s school staff group covers full-time employees of a Florida-based K-12 public, private, charter or magnet school. Its examples include classroom teachers, teacher aides, principals and assistant principals, school counselors and career specialists, school psychologists, social workers, librarians and media specialists, food service and cafeteria staff, and maintenance and janitorial staff. The examples are “not limited to” those titles, and only one borrower needs to qualify.

One County, One School District

In Florida each county is its own school district, so a public school job in Broward is a Broward County job wherever the school sits. Program limits, though, follow the county where the home is. A teacher in southern Palm Beach County may find more house in northern Broward, and one in Martin County may look at St. Lucie; each move changes the income and loan limits that apply. We lay the figures side by side before the search starts.

Living Near Your School, or Not

Some teachers want to live in the community they teach in, walk to school and send their children there. Others would rather not meet their students’ parents at the grocery store. Both are reasonable, and both shape the search: the first narrows it to a few neighborhoods, the second often opens up more inventory within the program limits.

Timing a Purchase Around the School Year

The school calendar is a real advantage. A contract signed in spring can close in early summer, leaving the break for the move, and a purchase started in summer can be done before pre-planning days. Many families with children also buy on that calendar, so homes near popular schools can draw more competition in spring and early summer; plan the pre-approval and the education course early so you can move when the right house appears.

What a County’s Limits Mean for a School Household

In Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach the FHA loan limit Florida Housing publishes for Hometown Heroes is $667,000; in Martin and St. Lucie it is $603,750, and in Indian River $541,287. The listings on this page start from those lines in each county and from the property types the program allows. Your pre-approval then replaces the line with your own number.

How BreakThru Realty Works With School Employees

Consult a mortgage lender who participates in Florida Housing’s programs and get pre-approved for Hometown Heroes. Tell us your school, your household and your timing, and we search inside your county’s limits, plan showings after the school day and on weekends, and time the contract and closing around the calendar you work to.

Who Florida Housing Lists for Hometown Heroes

Full-time, current employment with a Florida-based employer. Florida Housing’s examples in each group include, but are not limited to, the titles below.

School staff members

Employed by a Florida-based K-12 public, private, charter or magnet school.

Classroom teacher
Teacher aide
Principal
Assistant principal
School counselor
Career specialist (guidance counselor)
School psychologist
Social worker
Librarian or media specialist
Food service and cafeteria staff
Maintenance and janitorial staff

Program Limits by County

2026 Hometown Heroes household income limit and loan limits published by Florida Housing (effective with reservations from May 6, 2026), and the SHIP purchase price limit.
County	Hometown Heroes income limit	FHA loan limit	HFA Advantage and VA loan limit	SHIP purchase price limit
Broward County	$190,200	$667,000	$832,750	$679,324
Miami-Dade County	$204,300	$667,000	$832,750	$679,324
Palm Beach County	$192,750	$667,000	$832,750	$679,324
Martin County	$153,600	$603,750	$832,750	$619,629
St. Lucie County	$153,600	$603,750	$832,750	$619,629
Indian River County	$153,450	$541,287	$832,750	$544,233

Homes for Sale Within the Program Limits

Broward County: at or below $667,000

Homes listed at or below the 2026 FHA loan limit Florida Housing publishes for Broward County, in property types its programs allow. A starting point, not a qualification: your pre-approval sets your own number.

See every Broward County home at or below this line

Miami-Dade County: at or below $667,000

Homes listed at or below the 2026 FHA loan limit Florida Housing publishes for Miami-Dade County, in property types its programs allow. A starting point, not a qualification: your pre-approval sets your own number.

See every Miami-Dade County home at or below this line

Palm Beach County: at or below $667,000

Homes listed at or below the 2026 FHA loan limit Florida Housing publishes for Palm Beach County, in property types its programs allow. A starting point, not a qualification: your pre-approval sets your own number.

See every Palm Beach County home at or below this line

Martin County: at or below $603,750

Homes listed at or below the 2026 FHA loan limit Florida Housing publishes for Martin County, in property types its programs allow. A starting point, not a qualification: your pre-approval sets your own number.

See every Martin County home at or below this line

St. Lucie County: at or below $603,750

Homes listed at or below the 2026 FHA loan limit Florida Housing publishes for St. Lucie County, in property types its programs allow. A starting point, not a qualification: your pre-approval sets your own number.

See every St. Lucie County home at or below this line

Indian River County: at or below $541,287

Homes listed at or below the 2026 FHA loan limit Florida Housing publishes for Indian River County, in property types its programs allow. A starting point, not a qualification: your pre-approval sets your own number.

See every Indian River County home at or below this line

See Which Programs Are Worth Asking About

Tell us what you do, the county you are looking in, your timing, whether you have owned a home in the last three years and your price range. We send back the programs worth raising with a participating lender and homes that fit them. Questions about credit, income and debts belong with your lender, so they are not on the form.

Prefer to talk? (786) 914-1017 · sales@breakthrurealty.com

Frequently Asked Questions

Do private and charter school teachers qualify for Hometown Heroes?: Florida Housing’s school staff group covers full-time employees of a Florida-based K-12 public, private, charter or magnet school, so teachers at private and charter schools fall within it. The first-time buyer and county income rules apply as well.
Do cafeteria workers and custodians qualify?: Yes, as Florida Housing lists them. Its school staff examples include food service and cafeteria staff and maintenance and janitorial staff, alongside teachers, aides, administrators, counselors and librarians, when employed full time by a Florida-based K-12 school.
Do college and university employees qualify under the school staff group?: No. The school staff group covers K-12 schools. A college or university employee may still fall under another group, such as healthcare at a university hospital or a sworn officer in a campus police department, so check the full list.
When is the best time for a teacher to buy a home?: The school calendar helps: a spring contract can close in early summer and leave the break for the move. Homes near popular schools can draw more buyers in spring and early summer, so line up the pre-approval and the education course early.
Do I have to buy in the county where I teach?: The limits that apply are those of the county where the home is, and a lender confirms how the program’s rules apply to your purchase. Many school employees look across a county line, where the limits and prices can be quite different.

Sources

Program figures checked against their published sources on September 23, 2026. Programs, limits and funding change; consult a mortgage lender who participates in Florida Housing’s programs for the current terms.