Do you know the difference between contingency reserves and operating funds?
Operating funds are monies that our real estate brokerage uses to fund 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 Heatherlea, 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 savings 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 real estate investor. 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.
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.
Heatherlea Rental Management Resources
Basics
Basic info regarding property management in Heatherlea.
Getting Started
Learn more about getting started with property management
Find A Tenant
List your property to rent to find a reliable tenant in Heatherlea fast.
Accounting
How does Nesbitt Realty keep track of income and expenses for landlords?
Cost
A list of prices of property management services in Heatherlea
Vetting
How Nesbitt Realty vets tenants for our clients.
Reserves
What is a contingency reserve account?
Territory
Where does Nesbitt Realty manage rentals?
Clients
Who uses Nesbitt Realty management services?
Should you know more about the area?
Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a helpful tool for everyone who hopes to find out more about Heatherlea and nearby areas. The Guide to Real Estate compiles data regarding what has sold and what is currently listed, and many interesting facts that you might not be aware of. And, our Guide features quite a few of the aspects of living in Heatherlea. Naturally, all of this is helpful for buyers and sellers, but real estate investors and tenants might also find the facts to be somewhat edifying.
Landlord Reference
a handy reference for property owners in Heatherlea
- Before you lease out your rental in Heatherlea
- 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 landlord get paid?
- How your rental manager handles the association and your community
- How your rental manager handles utilities
- How Nesbitt finds tenants
- Insurance matters for landlords using our rental management
- How Nesbitt Realty & Management manage keys
- Heatherlea property owner responsibilities
- Maintenance, repairs & inspections for your rental property in Heatherlea
- The move-in inspection
- Property management information form
- Selling a 1031 tax exchange & more
- Starting our management of your property
- When landlords don't yet know their new address
- Vetting tenants in Heatherlea