Do you know the difference between contingency reserves and operating funds?
Operating funds are funds that our real estate brokerage uses to fund our business. Operating funds are our money. Above all, escrow funds are different. Escrow funds are monies that Nesbitt Realty is holding on behalf of tenants, landlords, buyers and sellers. Escrow funds are not our money, but they are monies that we are trusted to safeguard. At any given time, Nesbitt Realty has hundreds of thousands of dollars in escrow accounts.
In Northern Virginia, the Commonwealth of Virginia requires that all real estate licensees manage escrow funds in a particular manner. Most importantly the Commonwealth requires that escrow funds are properly accounted for at all times. In additional all escrow funds must be kept separate from operating funds. The biggest portion of our escrow funds are tenant security deposits, but also hold deposits for buyers (and sometimes sellers) as we'll as contingency reserve funds for real estate investors.
Contingency reserve is a special type of escrow.
A contingency reserve account is money that is held in savings to pay for repairs and other incidentals that occur during property management. Although the money is in our escrow account, the money belongs to the property owner. When the property management ends, that money is promptly returned to the real estate investor.
When a repair bill arises we use money in the contingency reserve account to pay that bill. When bills are paid in this manner the account is depleted. When the account is missing funds, at the end of the month when new rents are paid, Nesbitt Realty replenishes the count with money withheld from this rent. As property managers, Nesbitt Realty prepares a statement each month to show if/when money is depleted and how/when money is replenished into the contingency reserve account.
Owners do not pay us money to set up the contingency reserve account. Instead, Nesbitt Realty withholds money from the first month of rent in order to set up the account.
Northern Virginia Property Management Resources
Basics
Fundamental info regarding rental managment in Northern Virginia.
Getting Started
Learn more about getting started with property management
Find A Tenant
Market your property to rent to find a dependable tenant in Northern Virginia fast.
Accounting
How does Nesbitt Realty keep track of income and expenses for property owners?
Cost
A breakdown of prices of rental management services in Northern Virginia
Vetting
How Nesbitt Realty vets tenants for landlords.
Reserves
What is a contingency reserve account?
Territory
Where does Nesbitt Realty manage rentals?
Clients
Who uses Nesbitt Realty management services?
Do you need know more about the community?
Our Guide to Real Estate is a helpful resource for everyone who hopes to review important real estate information about Northern Virginia and surrounding communities. The Guide to Real Estate provides data about what has sold and what is on the market, as well as a couple of interesting facts that you might not be aware of. Not to mention, our Guide features quite a few of the elements of life in Northern Virginia. Yes, all of this is helpful for purchasers and sellers, but owners and renters will also find this data to be very enlightening.
Landlord Reference
a free archive for rental investors in Northern Virginia
- Before you move a tenant into your rental property in Northern Virginia
- Collections and evictions
- Communications with the tenant
- During tenancy
- End of lease term and what happens when a tenant breaks the lease
- How does the property owner get paid?
- How your property manager handles the association and your community
- How your rental manager handles utilities
- How Nesbitt Realty finds tenants
- Insurance matters for landlords using our property management
- How Nesbitt Realty & Management manage keys
- Northern Virginia property owner responsibilities
- Maintenance, repairs & inspections for your rental investment in Northern Virginia
- The move-in inspection
- Property management information form
- Selling a 1031 tax exchange & more
- Starting our management of your rental
- When owners don't yet know their new address
- Vetting renters in Northern Virginia