Do you know the difference between contingency reserves and operating funds?
Operating funds are funds that our real estate brokerage uses to pay for 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 Reston, 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 landlord clients.
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 landlord. 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.
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.
Reston Rental Management Resources
Basics
Basic info regarding property management in Reston.
Getting Started
Learn more about getting started with rental property management
Find A Tenant
List your property to rent to find a dependable tenant in Reston fast.
Accounting
How does Nesbitt Realty keep track of income and expenses for real estate investors?
Cost
A list of prices of property management services in Reston
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 rentals?
Clients
Who uses Nesbitt Realty management services?
Do you need know more about this community?
Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a free resource for everyone who hopes to learn more about Reston and nearby areas. The Guide to Real Estate includes data regarding what has sold and what is currently listed, as well as a few surprising facts that you might not be aware of. Also, our Guide features quite a few of the aspects of life in Reston. As a matter of course, most of this is interesting for purchasers and sellers, but owners and renters will also find the facts to be somewhat eye-opening.
Landlord Reference
a handy archive for landlords in Reston
- Before you rent out your rental property in Reston
- Collections and evictions
- Communications with the renter
- During tenancy
- 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 property manager handles utilities
- How Nesbitt Realty finds renters
- Insurance matters for rental investors using our rental management
- How Nesbitt Realty & Management manage keys
- Reston owner responsibilities
- Maintenance, repairs & inspections for your property in Reston
- 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 renters in Reston