If you want a mortgage broker in Florida who shops your loan instead of selling one bank's rate sheet, that is what I do. I am licensed in Florida and Connecticut, and many of my Florida borrowers are Northeast families buying a second home, relocating, or adding a rental in Tampa, Orlando or on the coasts. This hub covers what buying and refinancing in Florida involves, the taxes and insurance that change the numbers, the condo rules since 2022, the state's first-time buyer programs, and how I work a Florida loan from Milford.
What buying in Florida involves
Florida closes through title companies or closing attorneys, not the attorney-on-each-side custom of Connecticut. The contract decides who picks the closing agent and pays for the owner's title policy; in most counties the seller does, in Miami-Dade, Broward and a few others the buyer does. Expect a boundary survey on a house, a four-point inspection and a wind mitigation report for the insurer on older homes, an association estoppel on a condo, and 30 to 45 days from contract to closing.
Documentary stamp tax and intangible tax
| Tax | Rate | Usually paid by |
|---|---|---|
| Documentary stamp tax on the deed | 70 cents per $100 of the price; Miami-Dade 60 cents plus a 45-cent surtax on property other than a single-family home | Seller, by custom and contract |
| Documentary stamp tax on the note | 35 cents per $100 of the loan amount | Borrower |
| Nonrecurring intangible tax on the mortgage | 2 mills, which is 0.2 percent of the loan amount | Borrower |
The note stamps and intangible tax apply again on most refinances. Source: Florida Department of Revenue, documentary stamp tax and nonrecurring intangible tax.
I build these into the first estimate rather than letting them surprise you at the title company. Because they apply to a refinance too, a Florida refinance has to clear a higher bar than a Connecticut one.
Homestead exemption and Save Our Homes
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Homestead exemption | $25,000 from all property taxes, plus up to $25,000 (inflation-adjusted) from non-school taxes on assessed value above $50,000 |
| Filing | By March 1 with the county property appraiser; the home must be your permanent residence on January 1 |
| Save Our Homes cap | Homestead assessments rise no more than 3 percent a year or the CPI change, whichever is less |
| Non-homestead cap | Residential property with nine or fewer units rises no more than 10 percent a year |
Second homes and rentals do not get the homestead exemption. Portability lets you move part of the cap benefit to a new Florida homestead. Source: Florida Department of Revenue, PT-113 (R. 08/25) and PT-112 (R. 08/24).
The seller's tax bill reflects the seller's cap, which resets at the sale. The underwriter estimates taxes on the new value, and so should you. A buyer used to Connecticut's mill rate on 70 percent of assessed value should expect a Florida bill based on just value less the exemptions, with millage set by the county, city, school board and special districts.
Wind and flood insurance as a qualifying cost
Insurance is a bigger line in a Florida payment than in Connecticut, and it counts in your debt-to-income ratio (DTI), the share of income that goes to debt and housing. Policies carry a separate hurricane deductible, and a wind mitigation report can cut the premium. In a FEMA special flood hazard area the lender requires a flood policy, and its premium counts too. Insurers surcharge or decline older roofs. I get the quotes during the inspection period, because a surprise premium is the most common reason a Florida pre-approval stops working.
Condo questions since the 2022 reforms
After Surfside, Florida required buildings three stories or taller to have a milestone inspection at 30 years (25 in some jurisdictions) and every ten years after, and associations to complete a structural integrity reserve study every ten years and fund it; from the 2025 budgets on, those reserves cannot be waived. Lenders now ask about the inspection, the study, special assessments and litigation on the condo questionnaire, and a building that has not done the work can be non-warrantable, which narrows the lenders. Details are on the Florida DBPR condominium page. I pull the questionnaire before you pay for an appraisal.
Florida Housing programs, FHA and conforming limits in brief
Florida Housing Finance Corporation pairs a 30-year fixed first mortgage (Florida First for FHA, VA and USDA, or HFA Preferred and HFA Advantage for conventional) with a second mortgage: Florida Assist up to $10,000, the FL HLP second at $12,500, a forgivable PLUS second of 3 to 5 percent, or Hometown Heroes up to $35,000 for eligible workers. Rules and limits are on first-time home buyer programs in Florida. The county table, mortgage insurance and condo rules are on FHA loans in Florida, and the conforming figures come from the FHFA 2026 county list.
| Area | FHA limit | Conforming limit |
|---|---|---|
| Most counties, including Orange, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Lee, Polk, Brevard and Volusia | $541,287 | $832,750 |
| Duval; Sarasota and Manatee | $580,750; $547,400 | $832,750 |
| Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach; Collier | $667,000; $764,750 | $832,750 |
| Monroe | $990,150 | $990,150 |
FHA limits apply to case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2026. Two- to four-unit limits are higher. Source: HUD FHA Mortgage Limits lookup, CY2026, and FHFA 2026 conforming loan limit values.
Second homes, investors, and how I work a Florida loan from Connecticut
Many of my Florida files are a Connecticut family buying a second home in Boca Raton or Fort Myers, or an investor adding a rental in Jacksonville. A second home is a one-unit property you occupy part of the year, priced close to a primary residence. A rental is an investment property: more down, higher pricing, and on a DSCR loan the rent qualifies the loan instead of your returns. Neither gets the homestead exemption, and short-term rental rules are local. Self-employed buyers can use the same bank statement options I use in Connecticut.
The process looks the same from your side: application and documents online, e-signed disclosures, appraisal and title ordered through the lender. The local parts, the title company, the insurance agent, the condo questionnaire and the appraiser, are where I spend my time. You can sign at the title office, with a mobile notary in Connecticut, or online where the lender allows it. The loan is funded through my sponsoring broker, Barrett Financial Group, and you deal with one person who has done this in both states.
A recent example
A second home in Boca Raton for a Connecticut family
A couple from Fairfield County wanted a condo in Boca Raton for winters and, later, retirement. The building was over 30 years old, so I asked the association for its milestone inspection and reserve study before the appraisal; both were done and the questionnaire was clean. We priced it as a second home with 10 percent down, built the wind and flood premiums and the note and intangible taxes into the cash to close, and the couple signed with a mobile notary in Connecticut.
How I shop this loan
Not every wholesale lender is licensed in Florida, and among those that are, condo rules, second-home pricing and insurance tolerances differ. One will finance a building with an open special assessment if the reserve study is done; another will not. DSCR lenders differ on short-term rental income, which matters in Orlando and on the Gulf coast. I keep a short list for each situation, price the two or three that fit, and show you the comparison.
The questions I get most
01Can a Connecticut mortgage broker do a loan in Florida?
02What closing costs does a buyer pay in Florida?
03What is the Florida homestead exemption?
04Are Florida condos hard to finance?
05What are the FHA loan limits in Florida?
Start here
Get pre-approved for a Florida loan
Two minutes. I read every request myself and call back within one business hour.
Keep reading
- First-Time Home Buyer Programs in FloridaFirst-time home buyer programs in Florida come from Florida Housing Finance Corporation: a 30-year fixed first mortgage through a participating lender, paired with a second mortgage of up to $10,000, $12,500, or 3 to 5 percent of the loan, and up to $35,000 for Hometown Heroes.
- FHA Loans in FloridaAn FHA loan in Florida lets you buy with 3.5 percent down and a credit score as low as 580, with 2026 loan limits of $541,287 in most counties and up to $990,150 in Monroe County.
- Mortgages for Self-Employed Borrowers in CTA self-employed mortgage in Connecticut can be a conventional loan on two years of tax returns, a bank statement loan on 12 or 24 months of deposits, or a 1099 or profit-and-loss program, and the right one depends on what your returns actually show.
- Connecticut mortgage broker: home
Written by
AJ Doerr
Loan Officer, NMLS #2051311. Mortgage broker in Milford, Connecticut, licensed in Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts. Updated October 2026. About AJ.