Preparing for Palmetto Heroes: what to finish before the spring round opens

How past rounds have unfolded

Palmetto Heroes is not open year-round. SC Housing releases a limited pool of money each spring, and it goes to qualified buyers first-come, first-served. The pattern of recent years is instructive:

SC Housing described the 2026 round as the fastest the program has ever used up its allocation. As of this writing, it lists Palmetto Heroes as closed for 2026 and has announced nothing about 2027. We cannot promise a 2027 round. We can only say that the program has returned each spring in recent years, with about a week's notice.

Who has been eligible

The 2026 flyer listed five groups:

• Educators: classroom teachers, librarians, guidance counselors, school psychologists, speech-language pathologists and college professors. The SC Department of Education adds that a teacher must hold a valid South Carolina educator certificate and live and work full-time in the state, or have a contract to begin teaching.
• Licensed medical professionals: CNAs, LPNs, RNs, phlebotomists, pharmacy and X-ray techs, audiology techs, occupational, physical and respiratory therapists, dental hygienists and assistants, and social workers.
• Emergency responders: full-time or volunteer firefighters, EMTs and paramedics.
• Law enforcement and corrections: police, DNR officers, TSA officers, parole officers, SC DOC and DJJ correctional officers, and detention officers.
• Military: active-duty members and veterans of every branch, and South Carolina National and Air National Guard reservists.

The list could change for 2027, so confirm it when the round is announced.

The rule that decides who gets funded: a signed contract

SC Housing requires an executed sales contract before a lender can reserve Palmetto Heroes funds. Pre-approval alone does not hold your place. In a round that lasted under four weeks, a family who began house-hunting on opening day had very little time to find a home, negotiate and sign.

That is why our counsel is to treat the winter as your preparation season. If you are pre-approved and actively looking when the round opens, you are in a far stronger position.

A winter preparation plan

November and December: the foundation

1. Check your county's limits. The 2026/2027 chart runs from $95,800 to $141,000 for one or two people and $110,170 to $164,500 for three or more, with a $450,000 price limit statewide. Note that the 2026 round used the prior year's limits, so the figures in force when a round opens may differ. See the income limits page.
2. Look at your credit. SC Housing requires at least a 640 score. If you are near that line, pay down card balances and correct report errors now.
3. Confirm the first-time rule for your county. In twelve counties, including Charleston, Greenville and Richland, you must not have owned a home in three years. Elsewhere you only need to not own one at closing.

January and February: the paperwork

4. Choose an SC Housing lending partner and get fully pre-approved, not just pre-qualified.
5. Take homebuyer education. SC Housing requires it, and its program guide says certificates are valid for 12 months, so a course taken in January will still be good in spring.
6. Gather job proof. Teachers should have their certificate and contract ready. Others should ask the lender what employment verification it expects for their role.
7. Interview an agent and a closing attorney who have handled SC Housing loans before.

March onward: be ready to move

8. Tour homes in your price range so you can write an offer quickly.
9. When the round is announced, ask your lender how quickly it can reserve funds once you sign.

If your pay includes overtime or shift work

Many eligible buyers, including deputies, nurses and firefighters, earn more than their base pay. Lenders can count overtime, but the agencies are cautious:

• FHA uses the lesser of your two-year average or your prior-year average, and generally wants a two-year history, though one year can work if the pay was steady and likely to continue.
• Fannie Mae recommends a two-year history and accepts 12 months or more with offsetting factors. If the income is declining, the lender must confirm it has stabilized.
• Freddie Mac looks for two years, with 12 months allowed if justified. Its guide gives the example of a nurse on three 12-hour shifts a week whose verified minimum hours may count as base pay.

Shift differentials are not named as a separate income type in these guides, so your lender confirms how yours will be treated. A pay history from your employer that breaks out base, overtime and differentials makes that conversation much easier.

If the round closes before you are ready

Please do not be discouraged. SC Housing's year-round Homebuyer Program offers the same $10,000 in forgivable assistance with the same income and price limits, only without the Heroes rate. Palmetto Home Advantage has no first-time buyer requirement and no price limit, with a $140,000 income cap on the current chart. You lose the reduced rate, not the help. Our guide to SC Housing's forgivable loan rules explains how that assistance works.

A note on the federal Good Neighbor Next Door program

HUD's Good Neighbor Next Door program, which offers 50% off certain HUD homes in revitalization areas to full-time law enforcement officers, pre-K through 12 teachers, firefighters and EMTs, is a different and much smaller opportunity. Nurses are not an eligible group. The buyer must live in the home as their only residence for 36 months. We could not confirm current South Carolina listings, so check HUD's Home Store directly if you are interested.

To be matched with a lender now, so you are ready whenever the next round opens, please check your eligibility.

Further questions