Do you know the difference between contingency reserves and operating funds?
Operating funds are funds that our property management and real estate business uses to pay for our business. Operating funds are our money. In contrast, 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 Rosslyn, 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 purchasers (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 escrow to pay for maintenance and other incidentals that occur during property management. Although the money is in our escrow account, the money belongs to the property owner. If 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.
Rosslyn Property Management Resources
Basics
Fundamental information about what rental managment in Rosslyn.
Getting Started
Learn more about getting started with property management
Find A Tenant
Market your property to rent to find a great renter in Rosslyn fast.
Accounting
How does Nesbitt Realty keep track of income and expenses for real estate investors?
Cost
An overview of prices of rental management services in Rosslyn
Vetting
How Nesbitt Realty vets tenants for landlords.
Reserves
What is a contingency reserve account?
Territory
Where does Nesbitt Realty manage rental property?
Clients
Who uses Nesbitt Realty management services?
Should you understand more about our local real estate market?
Our Guide to Real Estate is a free resource for everyone who needs to learn more about Rosslyn and nearby areas. The Guide to Real Estate includes facts about what has sold and what is for sale, and a few compelling facts that you may not be aware of. Not to mention, our Guide has quite a few of the elements of life in Rosslyn. Naturally, most of this is interesting for purchasers and sellers, but property owners and tenants may also find this information to be very eye-opening.
Landlord Reference
a handy source for property owners in Rosslyn
- Before you rent out your rental property in Rosslyn
- 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 rental investor get paid?
- How your management company handles the association and your community
- How your management company handles utilities
- How Nesbitt Realty & Management finds tenants
- Insurance matters for landlords using our property management
- How Nesbitt Realty & Management manage keys
- Rosslyn rental investor responsibilities
- Maintenance, repairs & inspections for your rental property in Rosslyn
- The move-in inspection
- Property management information form
- Selling a 1031 tax exchange & more
- Starting our management of your rental investment
- When property owners don't yet know their new address
- Vetting tenants in Rosslyn