The move will help bridge the gap for people who can afford mortgage payments, but can’t find the money to get the ball rolling.

At the height of the foreclosure crisis, banks began to tighten their belts. No-money-down mortgages disappeared, closing the door for many Floridians looking to buy a house. Now the state is offering down payment assistance to first time homebuyers.

Jason Sebree with the Florida Association of Realtors says its good news.

“With this added bonus of $8,000 up front to be used as down payment assistance, that’s going to increase the pool of people who can buy houses by quit a bit.”

The state is setting aside 30 million dollars for the program. The money will be loaned to people who qualify for the federal 8-thousand dollar first time homebuyer tax credit.

To qualify you can’t make more than 75-thousand dollars a year. Families with two household incomes can’t make more than 150-thousand.

The money will be available through the State Housing Initiatives Partnership, known as the SHIP program. SHIP has an office in every Florida county. The money won’t be available until early August, but the application process is already underway.

Wellington Meffert of the Florida Housing Finance Corporation says now is the time to get home shopping.

“These purchases need to close by November 30th of this year. So they really need to go out there find a home get a deal put together and close November 30th.”

People who receive an advance will have 18 months to pay it back.

A list of offices to help you receive an advance on the money can be found at www.floridahousing.org