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 fund our business. Operating funds are our money. However, 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 Page County, 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 real estate investors.
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 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.
Property 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.
Page County Property Management Resources
Should you understand more about the local real estate market?
Our Guide to Real Estate is a helpful resource for anyone who needs to investigate real estate facts about Page County and nearby areas. The Guide to Real Estate compiles information about what has sold and what is currently listed, and some shocking facts that you might not know. In addition, our Guide spotlights some benefits of living in Page County. Of course, all of this is helpful for buyers and sellers, but landlords and renters will probably also find these tools to be somewhat enlightening.
Landlord Reference
a handy reference for landlords in Page County
- Before you put a renter in your property in Page County
- 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 rental investor get paid?
- How your property management company handles the association and your community
- How your property management company handles utilities
- How Nesbitt Realty & Management finds tenants
- Insurance matters for rental investors using our rental management
- How Nesbitt Realty & Management manage keys
- Page County owner responsibilities
- Maintenance, repairs & inspections for your rental investment in Page County
- The move-in inspection
- Property management information form
- Selling a 1031 tax exchange & more
- Starting our management of your rental investment
- When landlords don't yet know their new address
- Vetting tenants in Page County