Lease to own, or "lease-to-own", is a modern method of acquiring the ownership of goods or items that might otherwise be beyond the budgetary reach of an individual. Items such as a new car or home often fall into this category, however, in recent years, expensive fashion goods, as well as premium and ultra-premium domains have also become increasingly affordable due to this flexible payment model.
When you choose to lease a domain at domainAlot.com, you may choose from one of three options:
It's a great question because on the surface these payment models might seem remarkable close. While domain leasing is an agreement between the domain owner (lessor) and the lessee to be able to use the domain owner's property for a fixed amount of time for an agreed monthly sum. Lease-to-own a domain differs in the that the intention from the outset is that the lessee is in fact a buyer for the domain and has opted to purchase the domain through monthly leasing payments.
Flexibility. At domainAlot.com, we recognise the stress and strains on startups and small business owners who need the power of a premium domain name to provide a powerful brand presence online in today's increasingly competitive market space, but don't necessarily have the funds available in order to achieve their immediate business goals. So, by providing a wide variety of payment options, we hope to be able to meet the needs of anyone who is looking to carve out an exciting virtual space with a dynamic and compelling brand. Through multiple leasing options, as well as payment by instalments, or Domain Payment Plans (DPP), we try to meet the budgets and financial resources that business owners have available now, with the foresight of what they are building and hope to achieve in the future.
No. If the domain owner has chosen to list a domain for sale only, then the domain can only be purchased outright. However, if the domain owner has listed a domain for leasing only, or for both sale and leasing, then the domain is available to lease, which also includes the ability of lease to own. The lease to own option for any domain is offered within the Domain Leasing Agreement (DLA) so that the lessee of any specified domain has a reserved right to be able to exercise the Buy-Out option, should they wish to own the domain.
When a domain owner lists their domain for sale on domainAlot.com, they must submit an appraised value for the domain. An appraisal value is the perceived "worth" (or valuation) of the domain in today's current market. While this can be seen as a guide, the domain owner must themselves also submit the price at which they are willing to sell the domain. Once listed, these values are locked. Many domain owners are willing to sell their domain at a markedly lower rate than the appraisal value, while others choose to list their domains at a similar, if not identical value. The monthly leasing fee of any individual lease, including the enclosed Buy-Out option, is then based primarily upon this figure.
We know the challenge with providing multiple payment options can also create indecision, which is why we have simplified the process so you don't have to decide. Because many domain registrars and marketplaces offer domain leasing, and lease-to-own domain options, these terms have become increasingly commonplace in our industry. However, for the vast majority of users, they are still complex and confusing, which is why we decided to simply combine them so that whether you choose to lease a domain or are thinking of leasing to own a domain, the option you choose is the same.
When a domain owner chooses to allow someone to lease their domain, they must agree to the terms and conditions of the Domain Leasing Agreement (DLA). Although many variables of the agreement can be set for each individual domain, every domain that is listed for leasing must also be allowed to be purchased by the lessee. We achieve this through the Buy-Out option, which is an optional right every lessee has during the term of their leasing agreement. In other words, anyone choosing to lease a domain from a domain listed on domainAlot.com, has the right to purchase the domain outright if they wish, or to say it another way, lease-to-own the domain.
Your payable monthly leasing fees are dependent, and calculated, upon the leasing term agreed within your Domain Leasing Agreement. Fees during the active term of your lease are discounted from the final outstanding sum required to purchase the domain outright.
At domainAlot.com, yes, because when you lease a domain, you can always, at any time during the leasing of the domain, decide to buy it outright.
When you opt to exercise the Buy-Out option in a Domain Leasing Agreement, the process of transferring legal ownership commences when payment is received and the domain owner is notified by Escrow that payment has been made.
Transfer of domain ownership by the domain registrar typically takes five to seven (5-7) business days. The domain owner must contact the domain registrar to unlock the domain by issuing the necessary Auth Codes that allows the domain owner to update all Legal, Technical, Billing, Contact, and other administrative details of the domain with those provided by the lessee following Buy-Out. The registrar is required to submit these details to ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) and legal transfer of ownership is deemed complete once these details have been updated.
Of course, the domain is now your property and you are free to register and/ or host the domain with anyone you choose. However, please remember that once the details of a domain have been updated through ICANN, any further updates or changes to the domain, including where it is registered, is prohibited for a sixty (60) day period. This security feature is designed by ICANN to prevent the unlawful phishing and hijacking of domains from domain owners. During this time, as the domain's new owner, and you may log in to the registrar with which the previous domain owner had registered the domain, and manage any and all Domain Name server (DNS) settings until such time you are able to move the domain to your preferred registrar.
While this is entirely down to your own personal situation, we usually find that users who want to lease-to-own a domain opt to lease the domain for the maximum leasing term. This way, they pay lower monthly payments and gain time to accumulate the outstanding amount to achieve full ownership.
Three years (36 months).
There are a number of reasons why we set the maximum leasing term of a domain to three years, the most important one of which is to ensure fairness for both the domain owner (lessor) and the lessee. When a domain owner lists their domain for lease on domainAlot.com, they must commit to a value and monthly leasing rate for the domain. During the leasing period, the value of the domain can increase considerably as market demand for highly sought after domains continue to rise, and variables such as web traffic increase the domain's actual market value. Despite this, the domain owner is not allowed to adjust the agreed monthly leasing rate, and so, can potentially lose revenue from their asset. Conversely, a lessee commits to leasing the domain for the agreed sum and does not necessarily have the budget or resources to meet any increased monthly rental rates which other domain marketplaces incur. So, in order to remain transparent and fair to both lessor and lessee, we include a maximum leasing term of three years during which time the lessee can also opt to purchase the domain outright from the current domain owner.
The best way to explain would be through a simple example. Imagine a scenario where the domain owner has valued their domain at a market value of $1,200 USD. For someone interested in leasing the domain for one year (12 months) the monthly leasing rate would be $10 USD. During that time, should the lessee wish to exercise the Buy-Out option and purchase the domain outright, then the leasing fees paid would be deducted from the final purchase sum, meaning that effectively, the lessee would have paid $120 USD ($10 USD per month for 12 months), and then needed to pay $1,080 USD as a final lump sum. For the lessee who has chosen to lease the domain for three years (36 months), the monthly leasing fee is just $9, as the lessee receives a 10% discount. So, during the duration of the lease, the lessee has a number of advantages over the shorter-term lessee in that they are able to pay less each month, as well as have a longer period of time in order to accumulate the outstanding funds necessary to purchase the domain outright through exercising the Buy-Out option.
Guaranteed income. For the domain owner, renting their domain provides guaranteed passive income from their digital asset, as well as the option for the lessee to purchase the domain outright, and the possibility for the domain owner to eventually sell their domain. While a short-term lease may generate higher monthly income, a longer leasing agreement with a lessee provides more guaranteed revenue from their asset, albeit at a lower monthly rate. For domain owners not reliant upon larger monthly incomes, a longer leasing agreement is a valuable way of generating monthly income while increasing the possibility of selling their domain in parallel by affording the lessee more time to acquire the funds necessary to achieve ownership.
Begin by browsing the domains currently available in The Domain Marketplace. Alternatively, if you know the name or domain category you are interested in, you can search for the exact domain, or similar domains, using our Domain Search Tool. On the domain details page you will find a number of payment options including, "Buy Now", "Pay By Instalments", and "Lease-to-Own". Select the lease to own option and you will be directed to the leasing page of the domain which provides details such as available leasing terms, leasing rates, as well as links to the actual Domain Leasing Agreement (DLA) for your chosen domain.