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. Conversely, 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 Springfield, 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 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 rental 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.
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.
Springfield Rental Management Resources
Basics
Elementary information regarding management services in Springfield.
Getting Started
Learn more about getting started with property management
Find A Tenant
List your property to rent to find a reliable renter in Springfield fast.
Accounting
How does Nesbitt Realty keep track of income and expenses for real estate investors?
Cost
An overview of fees associated with property management services in Springfield
Vetting
How Nesbitt Realty checks the backgrounds of tenants for landlords.
Reserves
What is a contingency reserve account?
Territory
Where does Nesbitt Realty manage rentals?
Clients
Who uses Nesbitt Realty management services?
Do you need understand more about our area?
Our Guide to Real Estate is a helpful tool for everyone who needs to investigate real estate facts about Springfield and surrounding communities. The Guide to Real Estate provides data about what has sold and what is currently listed, as well as many interesting facts that you might not be aware of. Also, our Guide highlights some fundamentals of living in Springfield. Definitely, most of this is useful for purchasers and sellers, but rental investors and tenants may also find these tools to be very enlightening.
Landlord Reference
a good archive for property owners in Springfield
- Before you lease out your investment in Springfield
- 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 owner get paid?
- How your rental manager handles the association and your community
- How your property manager handles utilities
- How Nesbitt Realty finds tenants
- Insurance matters for rental investors using our property management
- How Nesbitt Realty & Management manage keys
- Springfield rental investor responsibilities
- Maintenance, repairs & inspections for your rental investment in Springfield
- The move-in inspection
- Property management information form
- Selling a 1031 tax exchange & more
- Starting our management of your rental investment
- When property owners don't yet know their new address
- Vetting tenants in Springfield