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. On the other hand, 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 Paramount, 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 property 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 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.
Real estate investors 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.
Paramount Rental Management Resources
Basics
Elementary info about what management services in Paramount.
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 Paramount fast.
Accounting
How does Nesbitt Realty keep track of income and expenses for real estate investors?
Cost
A list of prices of rental management in Paramount
Vetting
How Nesbitt Realty vets tenants for landlords.
Reserves
What is a contingency reserve account?
Territory
Where does Nesbitt Realty manage property?
Clients
Who uses Nesbitt Realty management services?
Do you want understand more about the area?
Our Guide to Real Estate is a handy tool for everyone who needs to investigate real estate facts about Paramount and surrounding areas. The Guide to Real Estate provides facts regarding what has sold and what is on the market, and a couple of surprising facts that you may not know. In addition, our Guide spotlights many of the fundamentals of life in Paramount. As a matter of course, all of this is helpful for purchasers and sellers, but landlords and renters will probably also find these resources to be somewhat useful.
Landlord Reference
a good reference for rental investors in Paramount
- Before you rent out your rental property in Paramount
- Collections and evictions
- Communications with the tenant
- During tenancy
- End of lease term and what happens when a renter breaks the lease
- How does the landlord get paid?
- How your property management company handles the association and your community
- How your property manager handles utilities
- How Nesbitt finds renters
- Insurance matters for owners using our property management
- How Nesbitt Realty & Management manage keys
- Paramount landlord responsibilities
- Maintenance, repairs & inspections for your property in Paramount
- The move-in inspection
- Property management information form
- Selling a 1031 tax exchange & more
- Starting our management of your rental
- When owners don't yet know their new address
- Vetting tenants in Paramount