Hero Home Loans: Honoring Service with Savings

From serving youth to saving lives, the everyday dedication of heroes to protect our communities solidifies the foundation of our country and strengthens its future. We offer Hero Home Loans not only to honor their service, but to give them a well-deserved break, given all that they do for our community. In this article, we discuss our Hero Home Loan options in depth, such as their features, requirements, eligibility, and examples of each option in action, to help heroes choose the one that best fits their financial needs. They do so much to help others—now it’s our turn to help our hometown heroes.

Learn more about our Hero Home Loans here.

What is a Hero Mortgage Loan?

Some, but not all, mortgage lenders offer home loans for heroes, a type of home loan that typically offers special rates or discounts as a way of giving back to those who serve or have served their communities in one capacity or another. Lenders typically have specific definitions for who is eligible, typically based on their occupation, such as hero home loans for nurses or teachers. Some lenders who offer Hero Home Loans, like at Space Coast Credit Union, will waive fees or offer loan rate reductions for eligible homebuyers.

Who Qualifies for a Hero Home Loan?

At Space Coast Credit Union, we offer Hero Home Loans for healthcare workers, educators, first responders, law enforcement, and military members. Here is a more detailed list of who’s eligible in each of those categories.

• Educators: Teachers, professors, substitute teachers, pre-kindergarten through university coaches.
• Medical Professionals: Medical doctors (MDs), physician assistants (PAs), registered nurses (RNs), certified nursing assistants (CNAs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), radiologic technologists (X-Ray Techs), speech-language pathologists (SLPs working in a medical facility), dentists (DDSs), and dental assistants (CDAs).
• First Responders: Includes public, private, and volunteer firefighters, paramedics, and EMTs.
• Law Enforcement: Includes uniformed officers, detectives, state police, highway patrol, sheriffs, special jurisdiction police, air marshals, border patrol agents, crime scene investigators, corrections officers and federal law enforcement officers.
• Military: Includes active, reserve, veteran, and retired members of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Coast Guard and National Guard, as well as their spouses and widowed spouses.

We validate eligibility through verification of employment and job title/position; current employment badges and paystubs are acceptable. As a rule of thumb, we recommend a minimum credit score of 620.

Hero Home Loan Offerings at SCCU

At SCCU, we’re proud to offer a couple of different Hero Home Loan options, and best of all, you don’t have to be a first-time homebuyer. It’s our way of helping heroes achieve affordable homeownership. These options are all available for first mortgages for a primary residence:

Option 1: No Closing Costs
The Benefit: With this option, we waive third-party closing costs and lender origination fees. Plus, you get an additional 0.25% off our low No Closing Costs rates!
For Example: If you qualify for a regular rate of 3.625% on a $200,000 loan (30-year term), this option reduces your rate to 3.375%. This lowers your monthly payment and could save you over $10,000 over the life of the loan.

Option 2: Reduced Rate
The Benefit: Heroes get 0.25% off SCCU’s low first mortgage rates, whether it’s for purchasing or refinancing. This gives you a lower monthly payment and saves you more money on interest over the life of the loan.
For Example: If you qualify for a regular rate of 3.25% on a $200,000 loan (30-year term), this option reduces your rate to 3.00%. This lowers your monthly payment and could save you over $9,700 over the life of the loan.

Option 3: No Private Mortgage Insurance
The Benefit: If you’ve been looking for military home loans, we now offer this option that waives private mortgage insurance (PMI). This is specifically for military service members (excluding National Guard and reserve members).
For Example: On a $250,000 loan with a fixed rate of 4.25%, waiving a $90/month PMI fee drops your monthly payment from $1,319 down to $1,229.

What is the Hero Program Interest Rate?

Your interest rate for a Hero Home Loan takes into account the same factors as it does for a conventional mortgage, such as your credit score, down payment amount, loan-to-value ratio (LTV), your loan term, and additionally, which option you choose.

VA Home Loans vs. Hero Home Loans

VA Home Loans are backed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and are specifically for Active Duty Service Members, veterans, and their eligible family members. Applicants who qualify get up to 100% loan-to-value financing, enjoy the same rate regardless of credit score, and do not have to make private mortgage insurance payments. Plus, in most cases, you won’t have to make a down payment. You can learn more about VA Loan requirements here.

While VA Loans offer more benefits overall than Hero Home Loans, keep in mind that the VA requires a funding fee and must ensure the home you choose meets specific requirements.

Why Space Coast Credit Union for a Hero Home Loan?

As a credit union, we’re a member-owned financial cooperative that exists solely to serve our membership. In addition, we provide competitive interest rates for our Florida membership in these counties. We also promote financial education with our available resource center, Home Buying Center, and articles. Plus, we offer Hero Auto Loans too! At SCCU, we’re our Members’ Watchdog, and our brand promise is Honest People. Trusted Products. Time Valued.

How to Apply for a Hero Home Loan

Have any questions? Can’t decide which option is best for you? You’ve got options for how you can contact us—by phone, Live Chat, WhatsApp, and secure messages—and our Team Members will be happy to help. If you’re ready to get started on the path to purchasing or refinancing a home with one of our Hero Home Loan options, you can apply online, in a branch, or over the phone. Our application process will detail the information and documents we need from you to get the ball rolling.

Get started with your Hero Home Loan application today!