Forget a rent or mortgage holiday, what if someone else would pay yours for you?
About 1000 Melburnians have signed up for a chance to have real estate agents pay their mortgage or rent.
The Noel Jones Group has pledged to pay $6000 to five households as part of a 40-year anniversary competition.
From mid-November each winner will have $2000 paid to their mortgage a month, until February.
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Group co-director Daniel D’Assisi said the firm’s directors were paying the $30,000 in prize money and an additional sum to market it out of their own pockets.
It comes as homeowners who sought out six-month mortgage payment holidays from their lenders earlier this year reach the end of the initial hardship arrangements.
Mr D’Assisi said they had encountered a growing number of people concerned about paying their mortgage and rent, and while these were still a minority they had been receiving thank you notes from the community since launching the contest on August 31.
“We just felt that given the current difficult times, with housing being a requirement, we would help out and give back,” Mr D’Assisi said.
“We hope we can assist some families going through difficult times.”
Noel Jones directors and staff helping The Big Umbrella Foundation feed Melbourne’s homeless earlier this year.
He said none of the firm had ever thought they would be paying someone else’s mortgage, but all contributed to Melbourne charity The Big Umbrella Foundation to help feed the city’s homeless and those at risk of homelessness.
Noel Jones chairman Jason Cunningham said they hoped the unusual competition would make a difference.
“There’s really never been a better time to win a prize like this. At a time when people are out of work, or needing some positivity, this could make someone’s life that bit easier for three months,” Mr Cunningham said.
Entrants must be at least 18 years old and an Australian citizen living in Melbourne.
Entries close October 30 at 11.59pm and will be announced via a random draw on November 2. Payments would commence within two weeks and will be made directly to the winners’ mortgages or rental recipient.
For more information see noeljones.com.au
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