PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Buying a home is a dream that’s become out of reach for many hardworking Pinellas County residents.

But a newly increased program for people with limited incomes is already helping fulfill that dream with up to $75,000 for down payments and closing costs.

Pinellas County’s Down Payment Assistance Program recently increased the amount of assistance available to between $50,000 and $75,000.

Those with incomes of $73,080 or less for an individual may qualify for the expanded help, which comes in the form of a zero-interest, deferred loan.

The county assistance is available for homes in unincorporated Pinellas County and most cities, except for Largo, Clearwater and St. Petersburg, which have their own programs.

The program is already helping people like Pinellas County Schools teacher Dylan Floyd. Floyd moved back to his home in Pinellas after graduating college and taking a job at a local middle school, but finding a home in the county’s tight real estate market was a big challenge.

“Especially lately with the different interest rates moving around and pricing going up in Florida, it was difficult,” Floyd said. “My friends and I, we found ourselves looking at Zillow every night and Redfin and sending each other listings, but none of it was really within reach.”

Floyd eventually purchased a condo in the Bardmoor area.

“With the Down Payment Assistance Program, it opened up the options of the houses that were listed, so I could branch out and look at things that I didn’t think were possible,” he said.

The increased loan assistance of up to $75,000 is made possible through the State Housing Initiatives Partnership and will be available for a limited time.

For more information and how to apply, click here.