Yeah, I think its called Stamp Duty on GST!!!

Can the 20% be done with a deposit bond/Bank guarantee?

It would be possible by offering the agent some form of compensation. Of course it needs to be in such a way that you benefit finacially out of it; as opposed to using the agent & therefore reducing the incentive to the developer to offer a reduced price, as he has to pay agent fees.

My wife attended the seminars. Before she did though, which was in April/May 2002, I actually contacted ASIC to check that NII was the real deal. I am a vary wary of ‘get-rich quick’ schemes & to be honest if it wasn’t for my wife ‘pestering’ me, I would not have agreed to the course. Also prior to signing up, I had a meeting with a consultant, who I literally grilled & I don’t think he liked it!!
The previous paragraph was to qualify the fact that I am not a gullible person & that did more ‘checks’ than most would.
As for the seminars, well yes there was alot to be gained. I will be using this information in future, as I am determined to make money out of property.
However, there were a couple of glaring lies, in my opinion. Henry kept pushing the fact that making money out of property is a ‘pushover’ or he at least IMPLIED this. Totally wrong; you need to be spend hours & hours of your own time & this is very difficult with a full-time job.
Secondly, it was never explained that the renovation of apartments/units & on-selling them at settlement, is one of the most complicated features of the course. This was even admitted to me later by one NII’s employees on the phone. I never found a builder willing to hold off paying his subbies during the 30 day settlement period, while a place was being renovated. Related to this, I felt that Richmond in Melbourne had the most potential for apartment renovation, as its property prices are on average significantly lower than other suburbs in the same vicinity to the CBD. Henry stated during the course that you should avoid buying at auction & wait a couple of months for when the vendor wants to sell at a reduced price. WELL WHAT’S THE POINT IF THE AUCTION CLEARANCE RATE IN RICHMOND IS OVER 95% (as of February/March last year)!!
This renovation ‘scheme’ would only work in a depressed market, not a bubbling market, in my opinion, as vendors & builders would take what they could get. THIS WAS NEVER STATED IN THE SEMINARS.

On a separate note, I am just about to settle an apartment bought from PCG, where the valuation has come in 15% under the valuation provided by PCG at time of offer & 10% under their ‘discounted’ price (18 months ago). Makes you look at things totally differently doesn’t it!!!