First-Time Buyer Guide · Prepared for Milton · October 2026
Hi Milton — here's your plan, in plain English. No forms to decode: just what the help is, the homes I've checked for you, and your next steps in order. I handle the paperwork side while you're at work.
The Idea In 30 Seconds
The City of Tamarac will lend you money toward your first home at 0% interest. Part of that help is forgiven as the years pass: the city's own sheet confirms that half of it is forgiven after you've lived in the home for 14 years. Your bank loan covers most of the price, your savings cover part — you bring about 6% in cash — and the city's help covers the rest, including most closing costs.
The search: detached, one-story single-family homes at or under the $300,000 your lender set — across Broward, in the cities you picked and beyond. Tamarac's own program opens November 2; Margate, Lauderdale Lakes and Coconut Creek run on Broward County help instead, and that money returns in November.
Checked For You
These are the first homes through my full check — detached, one story, 2 bedrooms and 2 baths, at or under your $300,000. I'm still vetting more, one by one, and I'll add each one that passes to this same page. Checked October 25, 2026; prices and availability can change, and I re-check every detail before any offer. Take a look — and tell me what you think of these.
Margate — county help, funding expected November
$300,000
2 bd / 2 ba · 1,580 sqft · 1 story · detached single-family · MLS B26061908
A true detached one-story house, priced right at your pre-approval. The association fee is low — $90 a month — and the listing takes FHA or conventional, so it works with your loan either way.
See this home →Lauderdale Lakes
$280,000
2 bd / 2 ba · 1,284 sqft · 1 story · built 1970 · MLS A12104114
Twenty thousand under your pre-approval, and the lowest carrying cost of the group: the association fee is $75 every three months — about $25 a month. One story, and the listing takes FHA or conventional.
See this home →Lauderdale Lakes
$299,000
2 bd / 2 ba · 1,365 sqft · 1 story · built 1970 · MLS A12046273
Detached and one story — exactly the shape you asked for. The association fee is $90 a month, and the listing takes FHA or conventional. This one has been on the market a while, and that can help us when it's time to negotiate.
See this home →Coconut Creek
$249,000
2 bd / 2 ba · 1,287 sqft · 1 story · built 1981 · MLS A12104832
The lowest price of the group by far — $51,000 under your pre-approval — detached and one story. Two honest notes: the association fee runs about $263 a month, higher than the others, and this one works with a conventional loan. Your lender and I will confirm which loan you're on, and I'll tell you straight if it fits.
See this home →Your Steps — Just These
Wells Fargo asked you to complete a homebuyer course as part of your loan, and you did — you finished Freddie Mac's CreditSmart Homebuyer U on October 7, with the certificate in hand. That's the education your loan needed, and this step is done.
Tamarac runs its own program, and it asks for its own step: an 8-hour first-time buyer class through a HUD-approved agency — Housing Foundation of America or Oasis of Hope CDC. Your bank course was for the loan; this one is for the city's help. I'm booking it this week, so it's finished well before applications open.
The city also asks for a one-on-one counseling session at one of those same agencies, so your file is complete and ready. I'll set it up and tell you exactly what to bring.
Tamarac applications open Monday, November 2, 2026 at 10:00 AM, and they're first-come, first-ready. With the class and counseling done, we submit yours ready on day one.
Pick from the checked homes above — or ask me about new ones as I check them. When you pick one, I'll write the offer with the city's required wording in it. That wording protects you: if the city doesn't approve, the deal doesn't go through.
The home must pass a full inspection plus a termite inspection before closing. I book them and track the deadlines.
The city help lands as part of the purchase, in second position behind your bank loan. Plan on about 45–60 days from offer to keys.
You don't have to hold all of this in your head. I run the search, negotiate the price, talk to the bank and the city, book the inspections and track every deadline — you just handle the steps only you can do, and I'll tell you exactly when each one comes up.
Albury Pierre · LPT Realty · (754) 654-4985 · albury.pierre@lptrealty.com
Home details checked October 25, 2026 — prices and availability can change, and I re-check before any offer. Program amounts shown are maximums; eligibility, income limits, first-time-buyer rules and funding availability apply, and several programs open in funding rounds. AP Living · Albury Pierre, LPT Realty.