In these trying times we are receiving a large number of calls offering help and asking for assistance. The overwhelming support and understanding of each individual situation is much appreciated.
Please read the below information carefully so that we can try to minimise the impact of high volume calls that we are currently receiving.
Pure Real Estate Office Closure to the public
Our office is closed to the public effective immediately. We are currently working to finalise phone management so that our staff can all work from home from Monday, 30 March 2020.
Our services were set up for remote working from the day we opened in 2012. We are prepared to continue our services to you with minimal impact when we commence work from home.
Lease Renewals
For all tenancies that are on periodic agreements or have leases ending between now and 31 July 2020, we will be sending out lease renewal information in the coming weeks.
Regarding lease renewal enquiries, if you would like to know when your tenants’ current lease ends, please log into the portal to obtain that information.
We realise it is an uncertain time and we want to work with you to help provide your tenants some certainty of their home arrangements as soon as we can.
Please start to consider now what you intend to do so that we can speed up lease renewals as we work through them.
Smoke Alarm Testing
We have identified properties which require testing to be completed in the next 45 days and have arranged for them to be undertaken ASAP to make sure your properties remain compliant with legislation.
The company we use has provided us with a COVID-19 Action Plan which you can see here: https://www.detectorinspector.com.au/covid-19/
COVID-19 Impact on Open for Inspections
The Government announced that all Open for Inspections are now banned. We will still be able to host virtual property tours and private inspections for now.
Realestate.com.au and Domain.com.au are now opening new options for virtual tours and we are actively looking at how we can use these services to ensure that your property can be inspected to avoid a vacancy period. We will be looking closely at this and will provide you with options when we understand what we can do with these services.
If we need to host private inspections, please be aware that we will liaise directly with your tenants to identify a suitable time and we will work to minimise risk to them and potential tenants.
Our approach to letting a property will now be:
At the inspection, we will:
If the prospective tenant who is pre-approved does not proceed with renting your property, we will withdraw the application.
COVID-19 Impact on Routine Inspections
Routine inspections remain on hold for now. We are working on identifying the best technologies for video routines and hope to be able to recommence these as soon as we can. This will take some time for us to manage, so please be understanding in this matter.
Rental Payments
We are continuing to understand how we will manage tenancies that fall into financial hardship in this difficult time. It is still expected that the Government will provide further information regarding relief for rental payments. As of today, Friday, 27 March 2020, the Prime Minister has yet to announce any further information.
While we understand that it is a stressful time for many, we have asked all tenants continue to make regular payments. For those of you who have lost income, we have requested they communicate with us quickly so we can talk to you about their circumstances and work together through these unusual times.
We have provided them with contact information for the RTA for Centrelink for discussing their options.
Rent Relief and Mortgage Relief
As of today, Friday, 27 March 2020, the Prime Minister has yet to make an announcement regarding payment relief for rent and mortgages. We have had a very high volume of calls from owners offering help. We ask that you allow us to receive other calls in this time and we will contact you if your tenants request relief.
We also highly recommend that before you consider relief, talk to your bank and insurance companies. At this point in time, you may still accrue interest on your mortgages if you obtain a deferment and you may not be covered by insurance for loss of rent if you provide tenants relief.
Working as a Team
Our highest priority is the health and wellbeing of our communities.
We will provide additional information when we have further direction from the Government. We look forward to working together to support you through this time.
Regards
Russell Peter | Principal