Increasing housing affordability through resident-owned communities

Every year, and with every new owner, Lorena Vargas would receive notice of a rent increase for the land her manufactured home sat on. She and her neighbors in the Aspen Basalt Mobile Home Park in Colorado never knew in advance how much the hike would be or why.

Home never felt stable.

“It’s a false sense of security, because even if your mobile home is paid off, you still have this continuous lot rent that could increase,” said 34-year-old Vargas, who has lived in the community for 13 years with her husband and their two children. “So it makes you hesitant to invest in improvements in your home…it’s hard to take pride in something that’s not yours.”

All that changed in 2025 for Vargas and the community where Vargas’ husband grew up. Her in-laws live next door and her children can play in the park that anchors the community without her worrying. Here, neighbors look out for each other.

Residents were able to purchase the park’s 75 lots for $26.5 million thanks to the efforts of JPMorganChase client and grantee ROC USA, a leader in preserving manufactured housing across the country. By providing low-cost, fixed-rate, long-term acquisition financing, ROC USA helps residents purchase the land beneath their homes, providing them a chance to take control over their housing futures. Through Thistle Housing, a member of ROC USA’s network of affiliates, homeowners are provided the coaching, training and other support services to purchase, maintain and upgrade their communities.

Manufactured homes remain an important affordable housing option in the country, but options for long-term ownership are limited. The ROC USA model, however, “is creating a lasting legacy,” said Nicholas Salerno, chief program officer at ROC USA. "Residents now have full control over where they live, safeguarding their community from sudden changes in rent or management.”

Since 2014, JPMorganChase has committed over $5 million in philanthropic capital and $15 million in mission-driven flexible loans to ROC USA and its subsidiary ROC USA Capital to support the scaling of the resident ownership model. JPMorganChase’s support for ROC USA reflects the firm’s ongoing commitment to identifying and advancing sustainable solutions to the housing affordability shortage in the U.S. This work is helping to preserve rental and ownership options to ensure that low- and moderate-income people have lasting stability, economic security, and affordability.

“ROC USA has been providing important capital to help homeowners purchase the land beneath their homes and benefit from homeownership ,” said Michelle Egan, Head of Credit Solutions, Impact Finance & Advisory, JPMorganChase. “We’re proud to support the organization’s work to drive innovation and preserve housing supply across the country.”

Since 2008, more than 24,000 homeowners across 22 states have benefitted from ROC USA’s investments, which strengthens whole communities. With ROC USA’s support, families have purchased 356 manufactured home communities, including places like Comunidad Nuevo Lago in California, which is primarily owned by farmworkers from Oaxaca, Mexico; Crestview Cooperative, Virginia’s first resident-owned community; and Halifax Estates in Massachusetts, which boasts 430 homes, one of the largest in the country.

“Helping to provide housing stability and security is hugely impactful here because there are benefits across generations, ranging from health and well-being to wealth generation,” said Michael Sloss, managing director of ROC USA Capital.

And back at Colorado’s Aspen Basalt, homeowners are already thinking about future projects, including improving their water system, erecting highway sound barriers and possibly installing solar. Now, with newfound stability, they are the decisionmakers.

“‘I feel very honored to be part of this community,” said Vargas, who is also president of Aspen Basalt Homeowners Inc. “I’m so proud of how we came together and made this purchase happen.”

ROC USA is not affiliated with JPMorgan Chase & Co and its affiliates. JPMorgan Chase & Co and its affiliates are not responsible for any products and services offered by ROC USA and does not make any representations or warranties of any kind express or implied about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability, or availability for any particular purpose.