What should I do?

[peteboy48]

I am actually negociating to sell some domains to a guy but he has no money. he offered me to sign a contract and pay me money every month on a 2 years period. If I transfer him the domain, what can I do if he stops to pay me? Any siggestions? Thank you!

 

[peter]

You could accept installment payments over 2 years, but definitely not transfer the domains until they have been payed in full (include this in the contract). Alternatively agree to which names to transfer at what milestones.

You could also lease him the domains, with (or without) an option to buy. This is becoming more popular and the big elephants are moving more and more into this. Guaranteed revenue streams and tons of upside in things such as cash+equity deals, increasing payments over time and the knowledge that if your counterpart jumps ship, you still own the asset which is almost always worth more than prior to the lease.

 

[ianccc]

absolutely under NO circumstances you you give him the domain till you are paid, change the DNS to point to his website as son as you get the 1st payment

 

[Johnn]

What is the price of the domain? If it's a couple hundred dollars then you don't need to bother.
If it's a high price domain then you can offer leasing and only change the DNS - do not transfer the name until he paid in full.

Be careful - some people has NO MONEY at all and hoping to develop the name to get some profit to pay you back. If this this is the case then you will waste your time.

 

[peter]

Be careful - some people has NO MONEY at all and hoping to develop the name to get some profit to pay you back. If this this is the case then you will waste your time.

I don't see any downside here.. TS still owns the name and will probably see his asset-worth grow more with whatever development the leasee undetakes, compared to just leaving it parked.

 

[angel69]

I agree with the other posters. Absolutely don't let him take ownership of the domain until he pays you in full, period. If you do that you'll regret it

In the meantime you can redirect the domain to wherever he wants AFTER he has sent you the 1st pymt, that's NP

But I don't understand why you don't simply wait until he has ALL the money and then make it a regular sale, he pays and then he gets the domain, why set up installment payments?..... UNLESS he's offering you real good money and the only way he'll buy is his own way, and if so, protect yourself

I had a buyer offer me good $ for a great name but he suggested a complicated plan that included periodic payments, I would get a % of the revenue the domain earned for a certain period, he'd let me place links on his site, etc ?!.....It made me uncomfortable, I didn't go for it. He sounded professional but many like him have broken their word middle of the road and domainers get screwed. There's a good example right here on DNF where a contract was signed during negotiations and the other party reneged afterwards...the aggrieved party was to hire a lawyer last I saw, and that's expensive

 

[Jag.me]

I am actually negociating to sell some domains to a guy but he has no money. he offered me to sign a contract and pay me money every month on a 2 years period. If I transfer him the domain, what can I do if he stops to pay me? Any siggestions? Thank you!

Sign contract ... hold the names with your registrar but change the name severs to his hosting account. After full payment is paid then transfer the domain name. If you want more info inbox me. DO NOT GIVE THE NAME !!

 

[angel69]

I'm assuming you heeded the advice here from other 'mainers and you won't give him the name til he's paid in full. I think the only way I'd entertain pymt by installments is if the offer was really good and the buyer asked me to let him use the domain while he pays (direct the domain to wherever he wants) If the offer is nothing out of the ordinary then I don't understand why anyone would take pymt by installments rather than telling him to pay you when he has all the money, and if the domain is still available (if a better offer comes around he can match it but I wouldn't hold the name for him)

A couple of problems with what he's suggesting.... 1) Will he pay for a lawyer to prepare a contract, and even if he does you need someone on your side to make sure you're protected, in most cases ... 2) Once you redirect the servers to him, you need to constantly make sure he won't get you in trouble (hate speech, extreme porn, watch what he does with the domain lol....) because the WHOIS will still list you as the registrant ..... 3) Two yrs is an awfully long period, I don't like this but it's up to you .... 4) I'm sure you'll keep your end of the agreement, you're bound particularly if you live in the same country, but how would you feel if 10 mos from now a guy contacts you thru the WHOIS and makes you a better offer ? It's easier to sell in one shot for that reason, those are the so-called seller regrets

Written agreements and domaining aren't usual combinations, they're rare, unnecessary IMO and even obsolete. Having said that, you are on the preferred side here since if he stops paying you won't give him the name, he's actually taking more risk since you could try to weasel out the deal (in theory, I know you won't) and technically you could take his money and deny him the domain. I suppose another option is giving him your word you'll sell to him in 2 yrs (no pymt in installments) UNLESS you get a better offer during those 2 yrs, and if you do you'll have to sell to the other guy if he doesn't match it. And take a look of what may go wrong with "written agreements", I know it's the reverse in that case (link below), the aggrieved party is the buyer who paid in full and a scamming seller didn't give him the domain, and he didn't return his money either.... but in theory it's a good example. Domain leasing seems to be en vogue right now, and there some type of contract is needed, you might look into that too (lease first and they buy it when he has the $, getting credit for the $ spent leasing)

http://www.dnforum.com/f77/renegged-domain-sale-offer-after-receipt-payment-thread-505272.html

 

[webdom]

The best idea is... Do not transfer him the domain names by any means! Just give him complete control. Have him tell you what to do with the names. Agree to transfer him the names every time he pays 1 name off. There you go : ).

Dave

 

[amplify]

Everybody has already posted great legal information and information on not transferring the domain name, but just changing the DNS. This is all good information, but one thing in the negotiations process is that he may want his company name on the whois. Under no circumstance modify the ownership/contact details of the domain, rather put it in privacy. This is because technically anyone who has their info in the whois, owns the domain name. Could be an easy way to hijack if from you without knowing down the road.

 

[angel69]

I hadn't thought of it that way but good point. I'd read something to that effect, maybe a WIPO case. There are always errors with the WHOIS so this is concerning in any case, technically speaking the registrant as per the whois is the owner. The burden is on the rightful owner to prove he owns it and not necessarily the person the whois lists. Something to watch

...... Under no circumstance modify the ownership/contact details of the domain, rather put it in privacy. This is because technically anyone who has their info in the whois, owns the domain name. Could be an easy way to hijack if from you without knowing down the road.