Escrow.com offers a secure domain name holding process, that is a perfect fit for domain sales made via installments.
When a domain buyer is unable to come up with the funds for a domain up front, not everything is lost.
Entrepreneurs, start-ups and anyone desiring a particular domain name, can benefit from making installment payments; Escrow.com provides the holding “safe box” and charges minimal fees.
Recently, I inquired on behalf of a buyer, who showed interest in this type of domain acquisition, and had some questions myself; Leat Ahrony of Escrow.com was extremely helpful, and provided me with detailed feedback and information.
Domain Name Holding Contracts can be as short as 3 months, and as long as 5 years, with the option to extend beyond that, should the parties desire.
After the initial payment, Escrow.com takes control of the domain. Their registrar of preference is GoDaddy, but I let them know that Uniregistry also offers two factor authentication, a deciding factor in choosing GoDaddy in the first place.
How are the escrow fees calculated?
To simplify the process, the standard fees for escrow transactions apply, and $25 dollars per month is added when the buyer provides their own DNS, or $40 dollars if they wish Escrow.com to manage it.
So a transaction for $10,000 dollars and a 12 month payoff period would cost $175.50 in standard fees, and $300 ($25 x 12) in installment fees, when paid via bank wire, for a total of $475.50 dollars. That fee amount would have to be paid up front.
What happens when a payment is missed?
In that case, per the contract agreement, the seller would have the right to notify Escrow.com that a payment wasn’t made and request a default for the buyer, which would take effect 5 business days later. The buyer would forfeit the domain, and thus lose all payments made so far.
A buyer can pay off the domain faster, and there is no penalty when doing so, but there would be no refund of the installment fees, as these are prepaid. This makes sense from a business standpoint.
I was told that first time buyers that are not established members can only fund such installments via bank wire.
I will post my personal review of the Secure Domain Name Holding process at Escrow.com, if the buyer goes forward with this option, as I did with the Domain Concierge at Escrow.com.
More information, contract forms and related content can be found at this link.
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