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. 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 Ballston, 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 landlord clients.
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 landlord. If the property management ends, that money is promptly returned to the property owner.
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.
Ballston Property Management Resources
Basics
Fundamental info about what property management in Ballston.
Getting Started
Learn more about getting started with rental property management
Find A Tenant
Market your property to rent to find a great renter in Ballston fast.
Accounting
How does Nesbitt Realty keep track of income and expenses for real estate investors?
Cost
A list of prices of rental management in Ballston
Vetting
How Nesbitt Realty vets renters for our clients.
Reserves
What is a contingency reserve account?
Territory
Where does Nesbitt Realty manage property?
Clients
Who uses Nesbitt Realty management services?
Should you understand more about our community?
Our Guide to Real Estate is a handy resource for anyone who wants to learn more about Ballston and nearby areas. The Guide to Real Estate provides information regarding what has sold and what is for sale, as well as many surprising facts that you may not know. Also, our Guide features many of the assets of living in Ballston. Naturally, all of this is interesting for buyers and sellers, but owners and renters will also find these tools to be quite sobering.
Landlord Reference
a good reference for property owners in Ballston
- Before you move a tenant into your rental in Ballston
- 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 landlord get paid?
- How your property manager handles the association and your community
- How your property management company handles utilities
- How we find tenants
- Insurance matters for owners using our property management
- How Nesbitt Management handles keys
- Ballston owner responsibilities
- Maintenance, repairs & inspections for your rental investment in Ballston
- 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 renters in Ballston