Premium domain is on auction -- Any creative ways to structure a deal with owner?

[MrDrokon]

There's a top premium domain currently on auction. The minimum bid is $90k. I can't afford it, but due to my profession I'm uniquely situated to monetize the site. In addition to the industry expertise, I'm also a full stack web developer so I could build out this MVP on my own at no additional cost. I think there's a good chance this site could be monetized enough within a year to more than cover fair market price of the domain.

All that background said, is there are credible way to approach the owner directly (I have the actual owners contact info, not the auction broker) and make a deal? I'm very interested in the idea of leasing the domain with the option to buy after a fixed term, but not sure whether most owners of premium domains would consider such an offer. I'd be willing to put up some smaller upfront amount (<$10k), hold the domain in escrow for 1 year, and if I'm right pay him a premium over market value. If I fail within a year, he gets to keep my upfront fee ~$10k for the hassle and gets back his domain. Is this a reasonable proposal?

If you owned a top domain, what would make you take someone like me seriously? Open to other ideas.

 

[Biggie]

Hi

the option of lease to own, is good for both parties

the seller gets installments and buyer gets to utilize domain.

since you know their info, it might be plausible to submit that proposal to them

in any such agreement, there may be clauses that prohibit certain uses of the domain, during the lease period.
you want to insure that your dev plans, are acceptable uses, within that agreement.

one thing to keep in mind, is that if the min is $90k, then they are hoping for 6 figures.
so that may be the number you're looking at, in total.

Good Luck!

imo...

.