Do you know the difference between contingency reserves and operating funds?
Operating funds are funds that our real estate brokerage uses to pay for 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 Front Royal, 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 escrow 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 landlord. When 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.
Landlords 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.
Front Royal Property Management Resources
Basics
Fundamental information about what management services in Front Royal.
Getting Started
Learn more about getting started with rental property management
Find A Tenant
List your property to rent to find a reliable renter in Front Royal fast.
Accounting
How does Nesbitt Realty keep track of income and expenses for real estate investors?
Cost
A list of prices of property management services in Front Royal
Vetting
How Nesbitt Realty checks the backgrounds of tenants for our clients.
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 the area?
Our Guide to Real Estate is a free tool for everyone who hopes to find out more about Front Royal and surrounding areas. The Guide to Real Estate compiles data about what has sold and what is for sale, and a few interesting facts that you may not be aware of. In addition, our Guide has many of the fundamentals of life in Front Royal. Naturally, all of this is interesting for purchasers and sellers, but property owners and renters will likely also find these tools to be very sobering.
Landlord Reference
a good archive for property owners in Front Royal
- Before you put a renter in your rental property in Front Royal
- Collections and evictions
- Communications with the renter
- During the lease term
- End of tenancy and what happens when a renter breaks the lease
- How does the property owner get paid?
- How your rental manager handles the association and your community
- How your property manager handles utilities
- How Nesbitt Realty finds renters
- Insurance matters for property owners using our property management
- How Nesbitt Realty & Management manage keys
- Front Royal property owner responsibilities
- Maintenance, repairs & inspections for your property in Front Royal
- 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 renters in Front Royal