Do you know the difference between contingency reserves and operating funds?
Operating funds are monies that our property management and real estate business uses to pay for our business. Operating funds are our money. Conversely, 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 Atrium Condo, 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 landlord clients.
Contingency reserve is a special type of escrow.
A contingency reserve account is money that is held in escrow to pay for repairs and other incidentals that occur during rental management. Although the money is in our escrow account, the money belongs to the landlord. If 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.
Atrium Condo Property Management Resources
Basics
Fundamental information about what management services in Atrium Condo.
Getting Started
Learn more about getting started with rental property management
Find A Tenant
List your property to rent to find a reliable renter in Atrium Condo fast.
Accounting
How does Nesbitt Realty keep track of income and expenses for real estate investors?
Cost
An overview of prices of property management services in Atrium Condo
Vetting
How Nesbitt Realty checks the backgrounds of renters 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?
Should you know more about our community?
Our Guide to Real Estate is a free resource for anyone who needs to find out more about Atrium Condo and neighboring communities. The Guide to Real Estate provides facts about what has sold and what is for sale, as well as a few compelling facts that you might not be aware of. And, our Guide features some fundamentals of residing in Atrium Condo. Of course, most of this is useful for buyers and sellers, but owners and tenants might also find this data to be quite informative.
Landlord Reference
a good reference for rental investors in Atrium Condo
- Before you put a renter in your rental in Atrium Condo
- Collections and evictions
- Communications with the tenant
- During the lease term
- End of lease term and what happens when a renter breaks the lease
- How does the rental investor get paid?
- How your property management company handles the association and your community
- How your property management company handles utilities
- How Nesbitt Realty & Management finds renters
- Insurance matters for property owners using our rental management
- How Nesbitt Realty & Management manage keys
- Atrium Condo owner responsibilities
- Maintenance, repairs & inspections for your rental property in Atrium Condo
- 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 renters in Atrium Condo