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. 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 Bentonville, 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 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 property 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.
Bentonville Rental Management Resources
Basics
Basic information about what rental managment in Bentonville.
Getting Started
Learn more about getting started with property management
Find A Tenant
Market your property to rent to find a great tenant in Bentonville fast.
Accounting
How does Nesbitt Realty keep track of income and expenses for landlords?
Cost
An overview of prices of property management services in Bentonville
Vetting
How Nesbitt Realty checks the backgrounds of renters for our clients.
Reserves
What is a contingency reserve account?
Territory
Where does Nesbitt Realty manage rental property?
Clients
Who uses Nesbitt Realty management services?
Should you know more about this community?
Our Guide to Real Estate is a helpful resource for anyone who needs to learn more about Bentonville and nearby communities. The Guide to Real Estate has information about what has sold and what is on the market, as well as a few compelling facts that you might not know. And, our Guide highlights quite a few of the fundamentals of life in Bentonville. Of course, most of this is useful for buyers and sellers, but owners and tenants might also find the facts to be somewhat useful.
Landlord Reference
a useful archive for rental investors in Bentonville
- Before you move a tenant into your property in Bentonville
- Collections and evictions
- Communications with the tenant
- During tenancy
- End of tenancy and what happens when a tenant breaks the lease
- How does the landlord get paid?
- How your property manager handles the association and your community
- How your property management company handles utilities
- How Nesbitt Realty & Management finds renters
- Insurance matters for landlords using our property management
- How Nesbitt Realty & Management manage keys
- Bentonville property owner responsibilities
- Maintenance, repairs & inspections for your rental property in Bentonville
- 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 renters in Bentonville