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Whatsapp Australia's first not-for-profit real estate agency will be opening its doors in Melbourne

Australia's first not-for-profit real estate agency is opening its doors in Melbourne, and if all goes well, the model will be rolled out across the country. The agency will aim to raise funds for services for the homeless and increase the supply of affordable housing, writes Alexia Attwood.

Australia's first not-for-profit real estate business will open its doors in Melbourne today. The scheme is operated by HomeGround Services, one of Melbourne's largest homelessness, housing and support agencies.

The venture aims to raise funds for the homeless and increase the supply of affordable housing stock.

We have a father and son who are African refugees and in the other one we have a gentleman who has an eight-year-old son and he is the sort of person who just cannot handle being in front of people and he could never have gone to a real estate agent.

'If you are in a position to be able to offer us your property at a lower rent, your mortgage is in a good condition or you haven't got one, we can match someone up,' said Heather Holst, CEO of HomeGround Services.

'We'll take a lower commission to do that and we'll make sure that your property is kept in good condition and available back to you when you need it.'

'If you have got a property that you would like a real estate agent to rent out for you, you can approach us and we can rent your property at a full market rent if that is what you need back, and the commission that you pay to us as real estate agents will cross subsidise the other activities of HomeGround,' said Ms Holst, whose organisation deals with 10,000 people each year who are already homeless or at imminent risk of becoming so.

HomeGround already has a list of nine property owners who are keen to be involved in the affordable housing scheme.

'There are a lot of people out there, through no fault of their own, who are homeless,' said Philip Endersbee, the managing director of Wilderness Wear, who has offered two of his properties in East Kew to the program.

'That could be a woman in a refuge with two children who has been in an extremely violent relationship, or it could be someone with schizophrenia, it could be someone like my niece who is 32 who has got Asperger's,' said Mr Endersbee.

'The circumstances are such that they cannot just readily front up to a real estate agent because they just don't tick the boxes. How do we bridge that and make these things available for them? That is what I saw when the concept was bounced off me and I thought I like that and I want to be part of it.'

Mr Endersbee's properties have already been leased to two families.

'We have a father and son who are African refugees and in the other one we have a gentleman who has an eight-year-old son and he is the sort of person who just cannot handle being in front of people and he could never have gone to a real estate agent.'

'I saw him the other day and he was walking his son to East Kew Primary School and I just sort of thought, this could just be the break this guy needs. And just as importantly his son gets into a nice government primary school there and might get the education that makes a big difference for him,' said Mr Endersbee.

The HomeGround Services concept has already grabbed the attention of other homeless service providers in regional Victoria, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.