Florida Family Opportunity Mortgage: keep the people you love close

A spare key that counts as home

Maybe it's Mom, saying "fine" a little too often on the Sunday call. Maybe it's your grown son or daughter, ready for a place of their own but not a mortgage of their own. Either way, you want them close, and you'd like the numbers to make sense.

The surprise is that this isn't a special loan with its own name on the paperwork. It's one rule in Fannie Mae's Selling Guide, section B2-1.1-01, that changes how the home is classed. A home you buy and don't live in is normally an investment property. This rule makes two exceptions: a parent or legal guardian providing a home for an adult child with a disability, and an adult child providing a home for a parent.

In both, if your family member is unable to work or doesn't have enough income to qualify for a mortgage on their own, Fannie Mae treats you as the owner-occupant. The loan is set up as your primary residence, even though you keep living where you are. Think of it as a spare key on your ring: for this loan, their front door counts as yours. (In Florida, that key's probably under the seashell by the planter.) A made-up example of what that's worth: on a $400,000 home, 5% down is $20,000. Bought as an investment property at 15% down, it's $60,000.

1. 1

   Start with a conversation

   Tell Kelly who the home is for and what's kept them from buying on their own.

2. 2

   Look at the income question

   Together, check whether your family member is able to work or earns enough to qualify alone.

3. 3

   Get pre-approved in your name

   You're the borrower, so your income and credit carry the loan.

4. 4

   Find the right Florida home

   Choose a place that fits their days, their needs and the family budget.

5. 5

   Close, then ask about homestead

   After closing, ask the county property appraiser whether the homestead exemption fits your situation.

Whose key this is

The Florida part: the tax break may follow the key

You might expect the homeowner's tax break to disappear when you own a home and someone else lives in it. In Florida, it doesn't have to. (Florida has had a lot of practice with families moving parents closer. It shows.)

Section 196.031 of the Florida Statutes extends the homestead exemption to an owner who makes the home the permanent residence of someone legally or naturally dependent on them. The Florida Department of Revenue puts it simply: the owner may be eligible when the home is the permanent residence of their dependent. A parent you support, or an adult child with a disability in your care, may fit that description.

Why it's worth asking about: a homestead lowers the home's taxable value, and it brings the home under Florida's Save Our Homes limit on how fast the assessed value can climb.

The county property appraiser decides. They'll look at whose name is on the title and who is living in the home on January 1, and the application goes to them by March 1. If you already have a homestead on your own home, raise that with the property appraiser early. (Put both dates on the fridge. Next to the hurricane checklist.)

Why the label on the key changes the math

Cash at closing. Fannie Mae's Eligibility Matrix allows as little as 5% down on a one-unit primary residence. Buy the same home as an investment property and the matrix asks for 15% down. Because this rule counts the home as your primary residence, the smaller figure is where the conversation starts. That's a third of the cash.

Pricing. Fannie Mae's Selling Guide says a price adjustment applies to all loans secured by an investment property. A loan on a primary residence doesn't carry that adjustment. Your own pricing still depends on your whole file.

Where you live. Nothing here asks you to move or sell. Your parent or adult child lives in the new home, and you stay in yours. (Your couch, your commute, your HOA newsletter: all exactly where you left them.)

Sort out the paperwork questions before the house hunt

Every family's situation looks a little different, and that's normal. The question at the center is whether your parent or adult child is unable to work or doesn't have enough income to qualify on their own. The paperwork that shows it varies from family to family, so we'll talk it through and decide together what makes sense for your file.

Still deciding where the home should be? Strata covers this in Texas too, and our Family Opportunity Mortgage in Texas page explains how it works there, where the property-tax picture is different.

Nobody should have to choose between keeping their own home and keeping family close. A spare key on your ring, your own front door still yours, and the people you love a short drive away. That's what this rule is for.

Questions people ask

What is a family opportunity mortgage in Florida?

It's a nickname, not a separate loan. Section B2-1.1-01 of Fannie Mae's Selling Guide treats you as the owner-occupant when you buy a home for a parent, or for an adult child with a disability, who is unable to work or doesn't have enough income to qualify alone. The loan is then set up as your primary residence.

Who can live in the home?

Two cases are named: your parent, or your adult child with a disability. In both, the person living there is unable to work or doesn't earn enough to qualify for a mortgage on their own. You're the buyer, and the loan rests on your income and credit.

How much do I put down?

Fannie Mae's Eligibility Matrix allows as little as 5% down on a one-unit primary residence, compared with 15% on a one-unit investment property. Since this rule counts the home as your primary residence, 5% is the starting point. On a made-up $400,000 home, that's $20,000 instead of $60,000.

Do I have to live there, or sell my own home?

No to both. Your family member lives in the new home, and Fannie Mae treats you as the owner-occupant. You keep your own address, your own couch and your own commute.

Can the home get Florida's homestead exemption?

It may. Section 196.031 of the Florida Statutes covers a home kept as the permanent residence of someone legally or naturally dependent on the owner. The county property appraiser decides, based on the title and who lives there on January 1, and the application is due by March 1.

Can I use it for a college student?

Fannie Mae's rule names two cases: a parent buying for an adult child with a disability, and an adult child buying for a parent. Some pages online include students, but the rule itself doesn't mention them. There are other ways to help a student buy, and we're happy to talk them through with you.

What if the home will really be a rental?

Then a different key fits. If you're renting to someone outside these two family cases, a DSCR loan in Florida is built for that kind of purchase.