Do you know the difference between contingency reserves and operating funds?
Operating funds are funds 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 Warren 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 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 savings to pay for repairs and other incidentals that occur during rental 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.
Warren County Property Management Resources
Basics
Fundamental info regarding property management in Warren County.
Getting Started
Learn more about getting started with property management
Find A Tenant
List your property to rent to find a great tenant in Warren County fast.
Accounting
How does Nesbitt Realty keep track of income and expenses for landlords?
Cost
A breakdown of fees associated with rental management services in Warren County
Vetting
How Nesbitt Realty vets tenants for property owners.
Reserves
What is a contingency reserve account?
Territory
Where does Nesbitt Realty manage rental investments?
Clients
Who uses Nesbitt Realty management services?
Do you need know more about this area?
Nesbitt Realty's Guide to Real Estate is a handy resource for everyone who hopes to learn more about Warren County and nearby communities. The Guide to Real Estate provides data about what has sold and what is on the market, as well as a couple of shocking facts that you may not be aware of. Not to mention, our Guide spotlights quite a few of the benefits of residing in Warren County. Certainly, most of this is interesting for buyers and sellers, but rental investors and tenants should also find these tools to be somewhat informative.
Landlord Reference
a handy reference for property owners in Warren County
- Before you put a renter in your property in Warren County
- Collections and evictions
- Communications with the renter
- During the lease term
- End of tenancy and what happens when a tenant breaks the lease
- How does the property owner get paid?
- How your management company handles the association and your community
- How your property manager handles utilities
- How Nesbitt Realty finds renters
- Insurance matters for property owners using our rental management
- How Nesbitt Realty & Management manage keys
- Warren County owner responsibilities
- Maintenance, repairs & inspections for your property in Warren County
- The move-in inspection
- Property management information form
- Selling a 1031 tax exchange & more
- Starting our management of your rental property
- When owners don't yet know their new address
- Vetting tenants in Warren County