City of Lakeland Lenders

UPDATE:
FOR PROPERTIES within the city limits of the CITY OF LAKELAND (only) As of September 19, 2025, the City of Lakeland downpayment assistance program is REOPEN for new submissions. NOTE: City of Lakeland funding for Moderate-Income (81%+) is now limited to the Midtown CRA district. All packages, registration forms, and updated documents throughout the file approval process are to be submitted online at the below link:

portal.neighborlysoftware.com/LAKELANDFL/Participant

New users must first register their account, before signing into the portal. Once you are registered and sign in, you will be able to access the updated GAP Manual for Lakeland’s Home Purchase Program.

There are no Pre-Residency Requirements for the City of Lakeland

Polk County Lenders

Please first go to the Polk County GAP MANUAL on the POLK COUNTY LENDERS Tab of www.cflhands.org for program questions. As of Thursday, July 24, 2025 all Registrations for Polk County funding must be accompanied by the full checklist packet of documents (Page 2 of the Registration) in order for funding to be reserved. If an Appraisal is ordered, this one item may be noted as an exception until the Appraisal is completed. This will help our timely processing! Thank you for your patience!

Residency Requirements for Polk County: Buyers must have established residency in Polk County over the last 12 months. Additionally, a buyer who does not meet the minimum residency requirement, but currently works within Polk County, is eligible for program assistance.

Down Payment Assistance Availability

City of Lakeland (inside the city limits):

Citywide:

Funding available for Very-Low, and Low income households.
Moderate Income (81% to 140% AMI) NO FUNDING AVAILABLE

Within Midtown CRA district:

Low-Income (up to 100% AM) Funding Available
Moderate-Income (101% to 140% AMI) Funding Available

Unincorporated Polk County: Funding available for Moderate, Low, and Very-Low income households
City of Winter Haven (inside the city limits): HANDS of Central Florida, Inc. is no longer administering this program for the City of Winter Haven. Please contact Cedric Cox @ (863) 274-8658 or ccox@mywinterhaven.com

Please review the specific GAP MANUAL for complete program details. Registration form can be found below (Downloads).

If you are not certain if the property address is Polk County or the city limits of Lakeland, visit https://www.polkpa.org/CamaSearch.aspx and enter the Buyer’s purchase address. Then click on the Property’s PIN # to open the property detail. Under “Municipality” if it is noted as LAKELAND, then the property is in the city limits of the City of Lakeland. Otherwise “Municipality” will read “Unincorporated Polk County” or another smaller city in Polk County such as: Bartow, Fort Meade, and Winter Haven.

Downloads:

UPDATE:
The SHIP LENDER REGISTRATION FORM for each program can be found inside the specific GAP MANUAL. Please complete checklist Page 2 of the Registration by providing all the supporting documents WITH your Registration form. HANDS does not accept complete packets via email. Polk County packets must be hand delivered or overnight mailed to 2019 E. Edgewood Drive, #110, Lakeland, FL 33803. Please also make certain that the accompanying Sales Contract is due to close a minimum of 30 - 120 days from the Registration submittal to HANDS. Average downpayment funding approvals in peak periods can take 60-70 days.