Arx Capital is proud to promote Kristi McGovern to the Director of Sales and Marketing. Kristi started with Arx in February of 2020 as our New Jersey Regional Manager and Marketing Leader.

Kristi previously worked at UMH Properties, Inc., one of the leading manufactured home community owners in the country. During her time there she served as the Director of Marketing and Public Relations and helped to increase sales and rental revenue at an average of 28% per year. She developed the brand across its portfolio including designing a new website, creating marketing campaigns, redesigning community offices, signage and clubhouses.

Nathan Jameson, Managing Director and Founder, commented, “When Kristi joined Arx, she was already a proven winner.  We knew she had the capability to help Arx get to the next level.  Kristi’s impact has made across the company in just a short time.  We look forward to her continuing these efforts and growing this area of our business.”

Arx Capital is a real estate investment sponsor specializing in value-add and opportunistic investments in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States.  Arx’s principals have more than 20 years’ experience investing in, permitting, developing, and selling real estate.  Organized in 2016, Arx Capital manages real estate assets valued at approximately $100 million.

Acquiring Communities Which Have Not Been Maintained by Previous Owner

Investing in distressed mobile home communities that have not been maintained by the previous owner not only generates social and financial returns but expands the supply of quality, affordable housing. Improved housing and living environments result in a higher quality of life, helping residents to thrive and communities to flourish.

Revitalizing neglected manufactured home communities drives business and investment, creates jobs, and translates into improved services for residents, including street lighting, drainage, and waste collection. As residents spend more money in the area where they live and work, this opens up new opportunities for growth and further strengthening of the local economy.

Many communities are rich in assets such as proximity to colleges and universities, restaurants, recreation facilities, and employment, traditional thoroughfares, connectivity to mass transit, historical sites and landmarks, and an abundance of playgrounds, parks, and green spaces. This multitude of assets, when packaged properly, developed, and continuously invested into, provide opportunities for investors and create value for communities and residents.

Capital Improvements That Create Value

Newly Paved Roads

Roads provide access to education, health, social services, and employment and contribute to the growth and economic development. Linking patients to hospitals, students to schools, and workers to jobs, building new roads is an integral part of any community development agenda. Whether upgrading existing roads or constructing new ones, accessibility to amenities and facilities increases. Good road infrastructure is essential for community development as it scales up competitiveness, improves connectivity, and attracts businesses and investment.

New or Updated Amenities

Investing in new or updated amenities not only helps increase property values and attracts new residents but keeps everyone engaged and active. Amenities such as playgrounds, basketball courts, gyms, parks, and community clubs bring people together, offer recreational opportunities, and contribute to the wellness and health of all members.

Investing in amenities makes communities more attractive and inviting, provides space for meeting and socializing, and offers families a place where they can keep their kids occupied. Having access to good amenities and recreational opportunities offers residents a chance to relax and get entertained and contributes to a more complete life.

Removing Dead Trees

Removing dead trees offers many benefits and generally improves the health of local landscapes. As trees decompose, they can fall and injure residents and damage housing and community amenities. Dead trees that died from mildews or disease can spread airborne infections to other plants and affect residential and community assets. Rotting trees also look bad and removing them gives an aesthetic lift to the local landscape.

By evicting dead trees before they decompose, investors help ensure resident safety and improve the quality and appeal of communities.

Adding Street Lights

Adding street lights helps reduce property damage and theft and improves community safety. Street lighting not only promotes security but improves the safety of pedestrians, riders, and drivers. Investing in street lights and illuminating parks, roads, and public amenities improves visibility and reduces the risk of injuries, accidents, and other mishaps. Extending the hours in which it is light enables people to find their way in the dark and helps communities come alive at night. For community spaces to be safe and welcoming, including community centers, neighborhood spaces, and parks and playgrounds, they have to be well-lit.

Investing in well-designed lighting both ensures resident safety and security and enhances landmarks such as lakefronts, seafronts, promenades, and boardwalks.

Upgrading the Mailboxes

Upgrading the mailboxes helps reduce mail robbery which can result in fraud, identity theft, loss of property, and credit card scamming. It is not surprising that mail is often the target for theft as it is commonly used to send bank statements, identification documents, checks, credit cards, and other confidential documents.

Investing in mailbox upgrades ensures secure package delivery and keeps valuable items safe, including social security and tax information, healthcare and medical information, envelopes with heirlooms and jewelry, and notarized documents.

Successful Communities Due to This Strategy

Investing in community redevelopment and reinvesting each year helps create successful, sustainable, and eco-friendly communities that benefit residents, the local economy, and the environment. Investing in distressed and neglected communities is a way to improve housing affordability and availability, mend our social fabric, and ultimately rebalance the scales of justice. Transforming economically distressed communities and undervalued assets into investment-grade communities and resources contributes to building vibrant local economies and healthy and connected civic societies.

Ivory Mewborn, Mayor of Ayden, North Carolina wrote an article “Manufactured homes and just zoning laws can transform working poor” pointing out the pros of manufactured housing and the stigma which is halting new developments in towns. The changes the industry has made is undeniable and has caught the eyes of many. The modern manufactured home is the true affordable solution for homeownership. Mayor Mewborn goes into detail about the changes of manufactured homes, the zoning laws stopping the development of communities and the backing the manufactured housing industry has by the federal government.

The holidays are a great time of the year, you get to spend extra time with family and bring cheer to all. When thinking about the holidays most people only think about the final result but the holidays can be stressful. On top of everyday life you know you have to go shopping for presents, bake cookies, cook dinner and decorate! Here are some helpful tips to take a little stress out of and bring a little cheer to your holiday.

Here are some great easy ways to decorate your manufactured home this holiday season!

Instead of spending money on decorations work with things you already have
– Holiday Cards – Display the cards your loved ones send you. They are a great simple way to decorate your home from your friends and family
– Presents – Use the gifts you buy as decor. Instead of having them overflowing from the christmas tree, place them around your home.

Gather Pine Cones
– Pine cones are a great accent to any holiday decor, the best part is they are free and right outside your door. If you want to spice it up you can purchase a gold or silver spray paint and paint the pinecones to add color to your decor.
– You can even make a pine cone garland!

Ornaments don’t just have to be for the tree
– Ornaments bring holiday cheer. If you have extra ornaments, hang them throughout your home!
– Ornaments also make great centerpieces whether you put them in a tall glass container or lantern or if you put them on a platter.

Ribbon, ribbon, ribbon
– Around the holiday’s there is ribbon galore at every store. Tie some red ribbon on your couch pillows or back of dining room table chairs.
– Use Ribbon to hang ornaments throughout your manufactured home.
– Use ribbon on your tree!

No matter how you decorate this holiday season Arx Management wishes everyone a Happy Holiday and New Year!

Making sure your home is ready for winter is an important task as a homeowner, this blog will give you some useful tips on what you have to do to have a happy holiday season.

1. Switch the rotation of the ceiling fans

Ceiling fans are installed spinning counterclockwise which pulls hot air up and pushes cool air down, cooling off your home. If you switch the rotation of your ceiling fan blades to spin clockwise they will pull the cloud air up and push the warm air into the room.

2. Run your faucets

If the area you are in is getting multiple days of below freezing weather, run your faucets overnight to avoid freezing pipes. Your faucets do not need to be fully on, but a spaghetti like stream will do the trick.

3. Replace any holes in skirting

If you are missing any skirting or if there is a hole it will release heat from the home. Skirting helps the home retain heat and prevents sleet, rain and snow from getting under the home.

4. Check heat tape

Make sure to check that the heat tape under your home is still working. To check the heat tape, plug it in and touch it, if the heat tape is warm then you are good to go.

If you do not have heat tape on the waterline of your home contact your community manager who can assist you in ordering it.

Mobile homes were first built in America in the 1870s and were used as a vacation home or an affordable housing option. In the 1870s they were moved by horses and were built with a metal exterior. Throughout this time mobile homes have advanced with the technologies surrounding the housing industry.

Over the years the homes have changed dramatically. They have grown in size, changed in the materials being used to build the homes and even the codes to which the homes are being built. Many people consider mobile homes or trailers to be manufactured homes, but in reality mobile homes are no longer built today. Manufactured homes are homes built after 1976 which are built according to federal construction codes from Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The manufactured homes built today are factory built homes which are then transported to their destination. The homes are built with products found in local hardware stores. Each home is fully insulated and built just like a stick-built home. If you have not been in a manufactured home and still consider it to be a mobile home we invite you to come take a tour of one of our beautiful homes.

On September 1, 2021 the White House released a comprehensive expansion of their plan to increase affordable housing. The MH Insider article “White House Release Affordable Housing Plan” details the ways in which manufactured housing will be a part of the White House’s plan. This plan was also supported by HUD Secretary, Marcia Fudge.

The plan talks about how the federal government will work with both state and local governments to leverage existing federal funds to increase the housing supply. It also states that financing through Freddie Mac will now be available for manufactured housing.