The minimum cash you need for a $400,000 home in Miami-Dade
Nelson Paredes · REALTOR® · One Stop Realty Center Inc
Updated October 20, 2026
$18,345
This is what you need on closing day with the minimum FHA down payment, not counting what only your lender can tell you.
Calculable cash at 3.5% down on a single-family house. It is a floor, not the total. It does not include the deed tax, which the standard Florida purchase contract puts on the seller: confirm it in yours.
Florida rates and HUD minimums read at the official sources on October 18, 2026.
Moving up one price tier barely changes the closing math, but it does change which assistance programs allow the home.
A single-family house (a standalone home) in Miami-Dade, with both title policies issued at the same time. Taxes from the Florida Department of Revenue; title insurance per the OIR rule; recording per the county Clerk. Each one is explained in closing costs in Florida. If you add the upfront FHA premium to the loan, the two loan taxes go up a little.
Line With 3.5% down With 10% down Down payment $14,000 $40,000 Resulting loan (price minus down payment) $386,000 $360,000 Tax on the loan ($0.35 per $100 or fraction) $1,351 $1,260 Intangible tax ($2 per $1,000 of the loan) $772 $720 Owner's title insurance $2,075 $2,075 Lender's title insurance (issued at the same time) $25 $25 Recording (2-page deed and 12-page mortgage) $122 $122 Calculable closing costs $4,345 $4,202 Calculable cash $18,345 $44,202 Separate: deed tax ($0.60 per $100 of the price), normally paid by the seller $2,400 $2,400 Closing costs barely change between the two columns ($143 apart): title insurance depends on the price, not on the loan. What separates the two totals is the down payment. The deed tax is not added: the standard Florida purchase contract puts it on the seller (source). Confirm it in yours: if you pay it, the cash goes up to $20,745 at 3.5% and to $46,602 at 10%.
These are HUD's minimums (the federal housing agency) for the FHA loan, the government-backed one: 3.5% with a credit score of 580 or higher, 10% between 500 and 579 (Mortgagee Letter 2026-11). Meeting them is not an approval; the details are in FHA loan minimum requirements.
Moving from $350,000 to this price, Miami Gardens drops out and North Miami with federal funds becomes uncertain. Those are the two lowest caps in the catalog.
Program Price cap At $400,000 City of North Miami First-Time Homebuyer, with federal funds (HOME) $370,000 or $415,000 Depends on the source: this price falls between the two caps. Confirm it before counting on it. City of Miami Gardens Purchase Assistance Program $382,195 Drops out: $17,805 over the cap. City of Miami First-Time Homebuyer Program $451,000 or $494,000 Fits with $51,000 to spare. Miami-Dade County Homebuyer Down Payment Assistance $451,000 (unconfirmed) Fits with $51,000 to spare. The cap comes from a guide; the county page does not confirm it. Miami-Dade County Homebuyer Loan Program $451,000 (unconfirmed) Fits with $51,000 to spare. The cap comes from a guide; the county page does not confirm it. Lauderhill Purchase Assistance Program (SHIP and HOME) $451,000 or $679,324 Fits with $51,000 to spare. The cap changes with where the money comes from. City of North Miami First-Time Homebuyer, with state funds (SHIP) $460,000 Fits with $60,000 to spare. North Miami gives two caps for those funds and this price falls between them: we cannot tell you it fits or that it does not.
North Miami runs two funds side by side: with the state ones (SHIP) this home fits, and with the federal ones (HOME) it depends on which cap applies. Ask which one you would be served with.
The next wall sits higher up, at the cap several programs share, and there is still room to negotiate here. You see it in the $450,000 tier.
Higher up come the City of Miami and District 5, which serves first whoever has all the paperwork ready. Whether each one is taking applications today is on the Down Payment Assistance Tracker.
- With the cap far above, they allow the home: City of Homestead Down Payment Assistance (cap $494,000), City of Miami District 5 Expanded First-Time Homebuyer Program (cap $500,000), City of Hialeah First-Time Homebuyer Program (cap $636,806), Broward County purchase assistance for Pembroke Pines (Homebuyer Purchase Assistance) (cap $636,806 or $679,324), Broward County purchase assistance for Hollywood (Homebuyer Purchase Assistance) (cap $636,806 or $679,324), Tax discount on the interest of your home loan (Mortgage Credit Certificate) (cap $679,324), Pembroke Pines First-Time Homebuyer Program (SHIP) (cap $679,324), State loan for the down payment (FL Assist) (cap $697,889) and State loan for the down payment (FL HLP) (cap $697,889).
“Fits” only says the price does not exceed the program's maximum; not that it is open, that you have the income it asks for, or that money is left (each program's card in Assistance and the Down Payment Assistance Tracker cover that). No assistance is added to or subtracted from the totals. Caps read between October 12 and 19, 2026 at: City of North Miami · City of Miami Gardens · City of Miami · Miami-Dade County · Miami-Dade County · City of Lauderhill · City of Homestead · City of Miami, District 5 · City of Tamarac · City of Hialeah · Broward County (HPA) · Housing Finance Authority of Broward County · City of Pembroke Pines · Florida Housing.
- Your lender's and the title company's charges: fees for opening the loan, the appraisal (when an expert says what the home is worth), the credit report, processing and title services. Each one sets its own and you will see them on the Loan Estimate, the cost sheet your lender hands you.
- Your homeowner's insurance and the deposits: the first year of insurance is prepaid, the lender sets money aside for taxes and insurance, and the home's taxes are split by days between seller and buyer.
If your loan is FHA there is one more line, outside the totals: the upfront FHA insurance premium, 1.75% of the loan, which is $6,755 at 3.5% and $6,300 at 10% (HUD, Handbook 4000.1). It is paid at closing or added to the loan; if it is added, it does not come out of your pocket that day.
- A $400,000 residential condo in Miami-Dade pays the same deed tax as the house, $0.60 per $100: Statute §201.031 treats a residential condominium unit as single-family and charges no $0.45 surtax. Calculable cash is the same as in the table above, plus the association certificate (legal cap of $299 to $597). With FHA, the building must be HUD-approved: here is how it is checked.
- The same house in Broward pays Florida's general deed tax rule, $0.70 per $100: $2,800, which under the standard contract is also paid by the seller. Calculable cash is the same as in the table above.
We help you turn this floor into your number.
The math above is for an example home; yours depends on your lender, your credit and the property. Leave us your number and we take care of building your figure with you.
This guide orients you, it does not advise you. The ranges are estimates, and final terms are set by the lender, the insurance company, or the homeowners or building association, based on your specific case.
