Migdal Ibarra and Jaime Prieto Diaz, with their new puppy, inside the manufactured home they purchased with help from a County-funded low-interest loan program. "It gives us the opportunity to have something that belongs to us," Diaz said.

REDWOOD CITY – Jaime Prieto Diaz was doing laundry when he overheard a conversation that would change his family’s life.

A few residents at his mobile home park were talking about a program that could help them buy new homes. Amid the tumbling of washers and dryers, he asked a woman about it.

“She gave me Alex’s phone number, and I called him,” Diaz said. 

Alex is Alexander Waggoner, a program manager at the nonprofit Housing Endowment and Regional Trust, or HEART. Waggoner sent Diaz an application for a subsidized loan program that he quickly returned. A few weeks passed.

“And then Alex called us, and he’s like, ‘Congratulations, guys! Now you can start picking your new home.’”

Six months ago, Diaz and his wife, Migdal Ibarra, moved into a new manufactured home with space for their four grandchildren to sleep over.

“It gives us the opportunity to have something that belongs to us,” Diaz said, sitting next to Ibarra and framed by the blue and gray curtains she chose to match the home’s interior. “It’s not a big dream, but it’s a dream come true.” 

The couple’s loan payment is under $400 a month for their new 36-foot-long home, thanks to the Mobile Home Loan Program, which provides low-interest loans to lower-income residents of seven mobile home parks in unincorporated San Mateo County. 

Ibarra and Diaz prepare fruit to share in their new full-size kitchen, one of the features they particularly enjoy.

Located in communities from the coast to the bay, these parks provide housing for more than 700 people. No down payment is required.

For working families, the program offers a path to homeownership in an area where the state considers a family of four earning $168,100 a year to be low income. The median home sale price in San Mateo County reached $2.2 million in July 2026, according to the California Association of Realtors. 

“We know how difficult it is for working families to become homeowners in San Mateo County,” Board of Supervisors President Noelia Corzo said. “Everyone deserves a home to call their own. This program gives families who already live in our community more dignity and an opportunity to build greater stability for themselves and their children.” 

Manufactured homes are one piece of the County’s broader effort to preserve and expand affordable housing. Unlike new affordable housing developments that can take years of planning and construction, the homes are built in factories and installed on existing sites, allowing aging or undersized housing to be replaced without building an entirely new development.

Today’s manufactured homes bear little resemblance to the stereotype of narrow trailers with thin walls and tiny kitchens. Many have high ceilings, insulated walls, porches, skylights and full-size appliances.

“Everyone deserves a home that is safe, dignified and secure, regardless of their income,” said Supervisor Lisa Gauthier, whose District 4 is home to four of the seven eligible mobile home parks. “For a family living in an aging trailer, replacing it with a new manufactured home can be life-changing. This program helps make that possible while preserving an important source of naturally occurring affordable housing.”

The County launched the program with HEART in 2024, committing $2 million to finance 20 loans of up to $100,000. All 20 loans were issued, with interest rates up to 3 percent. 

The initial loans are generating repayments that flow back into the program, helping replenish the fund for future borrowers. Given that success, the Board of Supervisors in June approved an additional $2.4 million for the program, including funding for 20 more loans. 

The maximum loan increased to $115,000 to account for rising prices for manufactured homes and expenses such as removing an old unit, site improvements and installation. The expanded program continues to offer 30-year loans with no down payment to qualifying households earning no more than 80 percent of the area median income. Interest rates will vary by income and are capped at 4 percent.

The County and HEART expect the program will become a self-sustaining revolving loan fund, with borrowers’ monthly payments replenishing the fund and helping to finance loans for future homeowners.

In partnership with the Housing Endowment and Regional Trust, San Mateo County has expanded a low-interest loan program to help more residents with lower incomes replace mobile homes with manufactured homes, preserving an important source of affordable housing. Ibarra and Diaz outside their new home in North Fair Oaks.

“This pilot was based on the idea that a robust loan program could be possible if it was thoughtfully designed around the needs and circumstances of our borrowers, even though the traditional lending market had left these borrowers behind,” Assistant County Executive Justin Mates said. “As we’ve seen, the borrowers are making their payments, and with the additional County investment, HEART now has the opportunity to make this a truly self-sustaining program.”

HEART plans to use the County’s investment to seek an additional $3.5 million from cities and philanthropic partners over the next two years. That would provide enough money for roughly 30 additional loans. 

For Gauthier, the investment is about more than financing individual homes. It is also a way to preserve communities that already provide a relatively affordable place to live.

“As we look for ways to create more middle housing, we also need to protect and invest in the homes and communities that already provide that affordability. Preserving these parks and helping residents reinvest in their homes is one practical way we can keep families rooted in their communities while strengthening our County’s housing supply,” she said.

Diaz and Ibarra are still settling into their new home in North Fair Oaks, where they have lived for years. Diaz works at an auto body shop, while Ibarra works in retail sales. The full-size kitchen is a welcome upgrade, but what they really love is the loft, where their four young grandchildren can sleep when they visit.  

The couple has spent years helping others, from assisting people affected by wildfires in Northern and Southern California to distributing backpacks and school supplies to neighborhood children. Earlier this year, they received the Vamos Pa’lante (Let’s Move Forward) Award from the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office Community Alliance to Revitalize our Neighborhoods program for their service. 

Diaz and Ibarra have received numerous awards for their community service. Ibarra was named a 13th State Senate District Community Hero for her support of local parks and volunteer work.

A few doors away in the same North Fair Oaks mobile home park, Lizeth Sanchez and her husband, Ruben Alvarez, are settling in to their own new home. 

They had lived in a travel trailer for about seven years. Sanchez cleans houses and Alvarez installs and maintains hardwood floors. Before moving to the park, they had rented a small studio apartment.

Now their 30-year loan payment is under $400 a month. Including the rent for the space beneath their home and other expenses, their total monthly housing cost is about $1,500.

Their new home has high ceilings, two lofts and an eight-foot porch off the bedroom. There’s room for a washer and dryer – although they haven’t bought them yet.

Sanchez particularly likes the larger kitchen, where she cooks enchiladas and chilaquiles with red sauce, chicken and cheese, sometimes topped with eggs, on a full-size stove and oven. Maggie, the couple’s dog, warily greeted a stranger during a recent visit.

For Sanchez, the difference between living in a trailer and a new manufactured home is easier to experience than explain. 

“Honestly, it feels so much better,” she said. “You live more comfortably. You have more space.”

The loft in Diaz and Ibarra's new home provides extra space for their four grandchildren, with a window that brings in natural light.

About San Mateo County
Established in 1856, the County of San Mateo stretches from the Pacific Ocean to San Francisco Bay and includes 20 cities and rural communities. Home to more than 750,000 residents, it is one of California’s most diverse counties with an economy driven by innovation, life sciences, agriculture and international trade and travel. In addition to serving unincorporated communities, the County provides countywide services that support the health, safety and quality of life of residents. Learn more at smcgov.org.

About HEART
The Housing Endowment and Regional Trust (HEART) of San Mateo County is a public agency dedicated to creating and preserving affordable and workforce housing throughout San Mateo County. HEART provides financing to affordable housing developers, directly acquires and preserves naturally occurring affordable housing, and develops innovative housing programs in partnership with local governments and other public agencies. Recent initiatives include the acquisition and conversion of market-rate housing into workforce housing for local educators and the County-funded Mobile Home Loan Program. Learn more at heartofsmc.org