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. But, 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 Fort Belvoir, 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 maintenance and other incidentals that occur during property management. Although the money is in our escrow account, the money belongs to the real estate investor. If the property management ends, that money is promptly returned to the landlord.
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.
Fort Belvoir Property Management Resources
Basics
Basic information about what management services in Fort Belvoir.
Getting Started
Learn more about getting started with rental property management
Find A Tenant
List your property to rent to find a reliable tenant in Fort Belvoir fast.
Accounting
How does Nesbitt Realty keep track of income and expenses for landlords?
Cost
A breakdown of fees associated with rental management in Fort Belvoir
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?
Should you know more about the community?
Our Guide to Real Estate is a helpful resource for anyone who wants to review important real estate information about Fort Belvoir and nearby communities. The Guide to Real Estate compiles data regarding what has sold and what is on the market, and some shocking facts that you may not know. Not to mention, our Guide has quite a few of the fundamentals of living in Fort Belvoir. Of course, all of this is interesting for purchasers and sellers, but owners and tenants will likely also find this data to be quite informative.
Landlord Reference
a handy archive for rental investors in Fort Belvoir
- Before you put a renter in your investment in Fort Belvoir
- Collections and evictions
- Communications with the renter
- During tenancy
- End of tenancy and what happens when a tenant breaks the lease
- How does the rental investor get paid?
- How your rental manager handles the association and your community
- How your property manager handles utilities
- How Nesbitt finds tenants
- Insurance matters for owners using our rental management
- How Nesbitt Realty & Management manage keys
- Fort Belvoir landlord responsibilities
- Maintenance, repairs & inspections for your property in Fort Belvoir
- 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 renters in Fort Belvoir