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. 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 Wakefield_Forest, 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 maintenance and other incidentals that occur during rental 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.
Wakefield_Forest Rental Management Resources
Basics
Elementary information about what rental managment in Wakefield_Forest.
Getting Started
Learn more about getting started with rental property management
Find A Tenant
List your property to rent to find a great tenant in Wakefield_Forest fast.
Accounting
How does Nesbitt Realty keep track of income and expenses for landlords?
Cost
An overview of fees associated with property management services in Wakefield_Forest
Vetting
How Nesbitt Realty checks the backgrounds of 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 know more about our area?
Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a free resource for anyone who hopes to review important real estate information about Wakefield_Forest and neighboring communities. The Guide to Real Estate provides facts about what has sold and what is for sale, as well as some shocking facts that you may not be aware of. Not to mention, our Guide highlights quite a few of the fundamentals of residing in Wakefield_Forest. Yes, most of this is interesting for buyers and sellers, but rental investors and renters might also find these resources to be somewhat edifying.
Landlord Reference
a free reference for property owners in Wakefield_Forest
- Before you lease out your investment in Wakefield_Forest
- Collections and evictions
- Communications with the tenant
- During the lease term
- End of tenancy 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 management company handles utilities
- How Nesbitt Realty finds tenants
- Insurance matters for landlords using our property management
- How Nesbitt Realty & Management manage keys
- Wakefield_Forest landlord responsibilities
- Maintenance, repairs & inspections for your rental investment in Wakefield_Forest
- The move-in inspection
- Property management information form
- Selling a 1031 tax exchange & more
- Starting our management of your property
- When owners don't yet know their new address
- Vetting tenants in Wakefield_Forest