Do you know the difference between contingency reserves and operating funds?
Operating funds are monies that our real estate brokerage uses to pay for our business. Operating funds are our money. On the other hand, 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 Founders_Walk, 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 property owners.
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 landlord. When the property management ends, that money is promptly returned to the property owner.
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.
Landlords 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.
Founders_Walk Property Management Resources
Basics
Fundamental information regarding management services in Founders_Walk.
Getting Started
Learn more about getting started with property management
Find A Tenant
Market your property to rent to find a great renter in Founders_Walk fast.
Accounting
How does Nesbitt Realty keep track of income and expenses for real estate investors?
Cost
A list of prices of property management services in Founders_Walk
Vetting
How Nesbitt Realty checks the backgrounds of tenants for our clients.
Reserves
What is a contingency reserve account?
Territory
Where does Nesbitt Realty manage rental investments?
Clients
Who uses Nesbitt Realty management services?
Do you want understand more about the community?
Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a helpful resource for everyone who hopes to find out more about Founders_Walk and surrounding areas. The Guide to Real Estate compiles data about what has sold and what is currently listed, as well as some compelling facts that you may not be aware of. Also, our Guide features many of the fundamentals of living in Founders_Walk. Naturally, most of this is interesting for buyers and sellers, but owners and tenants will likely also find these tools to be very useful.
Landlord Reference
a good source for landlords in Founders_Walk
- Before you lease out your rental in Founders_Walk
- Collections and evictions
- Communications with the renter
- During tenancy
- End of lease term and what happens when a renter breaks the lease
- How does the owner get paid?
- How your property manager handles the association and your community
- How your management company handles utilities
- How Nesbitt finds tenants
- Insurance matters for property owners using our property management
- How Nesbitt Realty & Management manage keys
- Founders_Walk owner responsibilities
- Maintenance, repairs & inspections for your rental investment in Founders_Walk
- The move-in inspection
- Property management information form
- Selling a 1031 tax exchange & more
- Starting our management of your rental property
- When landlords don't yet know their new address
- Vetting renters in Founders_Walk