Long-term Escrow

[Giode]

I was about to buy a domain name (both parties agreed on a price), until the seller (who is not a domainer) met with his accountant for advice. The verdict was that the additional income from the domain sale would put the seller in another, much higher tax bracket, and it would be best to wait until the first of the next year to complete this.

I understand his predicament, but don't really like the idea of waiting. Does anyone here have experience with long-term Escrow holdings? Unfortunately, I have no experience with this. What I'm thinking is that I could deposit the agreed sum in an Escrow account that only the seller would have access to. Then at the beginning of the year, the Escrow releases the funds to only the seller. In the meantime, he could transfer the domain to me once he sees the money clear the Escrow account.

It doesn't look like Escrow.com has such a service. What I'm wondering is if most personal banks have this service for their customers or not?

Anyone have any experience in this they can share? Thanks.

 

[BizBot]

I am not sure if they could do this or not but Moniker's escrow service allows customization of payment terms for an additional charge. You could email them and see if the money could be held until next year.

As a buyer I would not want to wait. If the seller truly wants to sell it may be worth paying extra taxes instead of possibly losing a sale.

 

[copper]

Contact "Justin Godfrey" at EscrowDNS.com.
He may be able to help you.
His NP member id is "rockefeller".

Along with escrow, it may be good idea to have seller sign domain sales agreement.

 

[JoshuaPz]

Contact "Justin Godfrey" at EscrowDNS.com.
He may be able to help you.
His NP member id is "rockefeller".

Yes, EscrowDNS.com handles more complex escrow transactions like these on a regular basis. Justin could certainly help you. Good luck!

 

[Giode]

Thanks for the suggestions guys!

I know all about Justin's EscrowDNS, and agree it's a great service. The only thing that concerns me is that the seller is the cautious type, and may require a service that he has heard of. That's why I am wondering if local banks can do this or not. If I could wire the funds to his bank, I'm sure he would have no troubles transferring the name to me. Has anyone heard of local banks (Bank of America, Chase etc...) setting up Escrow holding accounts for their customers?