Is there a market for this

I would never lease a site when I could buy one and/or have one built.

They obviously aren't making any (or much) money if you would lease them for $25 a month, so I'd be better off working on something I own.

No. First, sites don't have page rank, individual pages do.

Why would I lease a site when I'd have to tweak it to make it profitable and then turn an improved version back over to the owner? Think of it.

thanks to you both..

Let me ask you this question. Let's say you have a site -- Debt relief.

If you could rent 3-4 debt related sites with thousands of pages on aged domains, indexed in the serps and add your LINKS to each page/post back to your money site. Does that still not have value?

while I understand what you both mentioned.. I think there are many outside of the box ideas which these could be used for. You are both obviously "advanced" marketers.. and not everyone has the knowledge and bandwidth to build, market, host, modify, wait etc..

But thank you for your feedback, much regarded.

-OM

That sounds like a good idea to rent a site if you couldn't build one on your own. Although it might be better to just join an affiliate program for that price.

No there is no market for this.
Next.

I dont think Leasing out is good idea.
Either promote them yourself or sale them out to make quick money..

thanks to you all. Seems like the lease model does not have enough legs to stand on.. for now

flipping is a pain in the ass as well, but I'll suggest it to the site owner.

Anyone else have any creative ideas - post here.

-OM

There are lots of benefits you might get from leased properties. That's not the issue though.

A while back I put considerable effort into building value on certain blogging platforms owned by massive companies. No sooner than I had things profitable did they change their terms of service and disallowed what I was doing. All that work down the drain. I was able to close my accounts (one got closed for me) and take my content private. But it wasted valuable time.

The lesson here is don't build value on someone else's property. The exception is when getting started on a shoestring it might be okay. But as soon as you have the resources to go independent, do it.

I think renting or leasing a site WILL work if you can get your clients first page ranking and a listing in the search engines for their type of business in their geographical area!!!! I think they will lease a site if the conditions were ideal and leasing fit their needs.

I see the whole rent-a-site or lease-a-site as having the same value as renting or leasing a home or car. There are some folks who can't afford to buy and would rather rent.

A lot of home or apartment renters don't want the hassle of managing or being responsible for property upkeep and maintenance. They don't want to mow lawns, repair A/C units, paint walls, fix the plumbing or repair the roof. They would rather spend their energy and money on other things and let someone else worry about the issues or problems that crop up. Ownership is not their end-all-be-all.

Fast-food restaurants usually lease the land they sit on ... they don't own it. Yet they build it out and develop it to their own specifications, knowing they are creating a property on land they don't own. When their lease is up for renewal, they decide to extend or renew it or they close shop and move on. Another business then occupies the space, tears it down and builds a new building from scratch, or does whatever they are allowed to do based on their contract with the landowner.

LOCATION ... LOCATION ... LOCATION!!! (As they say in real estate >> same concept ... different animal).

Who says you can't do the same thing with virtual real estate? Who says you can't lease out YOUR website(s) to fit your game plan or exit strategy? If real estate tycoons can do it, so can you!!!

I think that there's a market of folks who would rather rent a website vs. pay someone thousands of dollars to buy a website, have it customized and then learn all the ins-n-outs of maintaining it or have to pay additional fees to someone to do it for them.

We just have to do the math AFTER we have counted our pennies. A lot depends on what people can afford at the moment in which they feel a need to do it. If you have $5,000 in your pocket for the creation of a custom website, great! If you don't, it's good to know that you have options to get what you want or need and be able to stay within your budget.

People are making tons of money offline offering services that most of the small business owners can do themselves. However, if they don't have the time nor inclination to do it themselves, you are welcomed relief and their savior!

Brick-n-mortar businesses and Mom-n-Pops would probably welcome this idea of leasing a site if you were able to show how it would benefit them to rent or lease, versus buy/own a website. There's definitely a market, i.e., plumbers, chiropractors, locksmiths, dentists, auto repair shops, HVAC repairmen, electricians, etc.

If you have the skills and the knowledge-base to build websites, you could offer the "rent/lease" option to them as an alternative (or downsell). If they can't spend big bucks upfront to have a new site custom-built, show them how it would be cost-effective for them to lease the website from you, instead.

When a client leases the website from you, you are the one hosting, listing, posting content, and managing it. You own the domain and all of the results of the traffic generation that you have put into that website. If they cancel, you can take all the fruits of your labor and lease it to someone else or one of their competitors. Then you won't lose all the work you've put into it. That is one benefit of using this strategy.

Another benefit of leasing is that it provides you with monthly residual income. Once you build the site and put the work into it upfront, you really don't have to do much to it except maybe make some cosmetic changes specific to the client you're leasing it to.

If a client cancels or bails on you, you can lease that same website over and over again to other businesses in that industry or market it in other areas outside your local area.

So, I see the "rent-a-site" or "lease-a-site" concept as a viable option. To me, it follows the same concept as leasing a home, leasing a car, or leasing a parking lot.

Thinking a little bit outside the box for this concept, you could overcome some of the objections by introducing another option into the equation. You could offer a "rent-to-own" option where they must lease the site for a certain period of time, then they will have the option to purchase it from you and own it outright. Then, you could note that anything the renter does to improve upon the site would benefit them, in the end.

Those are just my thoughts off the top of my head. I haven't utilized this business model YET, but I was revisiting this thought earlier this week. I've been considering whether to create a site to lease or create a directory site. I haven't done any in-depth research yet to determine which business model would be the better strategy for me to pursue full force. But I hope to go through the process of elimination before the end of the week.

It would be wonderful if some Warriors successfully utilizing this business model would come forth and offer their thoughts, experience and ideas. I would love to get some firsthand information from someone already doing it ... or, who has been there and done that (and got the check to prove it)!

I always advise people to stay away from "free blogs" ....sites that you build, but do not own. The same concept goes with a "leased" site. You put all this effort into making it successful, but it actually doesn't belong to you. It can be taken away at any time, as you can see when Hubpages, Squidoo or Blogger bans, suspends or locks them.

It may appeal to some, but I'd never put money into someone else's site.

Is it me, or are a lot of people confused??? :confused:

We're not talking about "free" sites or sites that the renter or lessee are building. We're talking about sites that YOU (the lessor) will build as a service and lease or rent out. The lessee can rent them or choose to build their own.

It is not the same thing as developing a Blogger blog, HubPage, Squidoo Lens, WordPress.com blog, etc. Although, they all have their place in the whole scheme of things, it is not the same concept, business model, nor strategy. And does not serve the same purpose nor render the same results. Totally different beasts!

As I mentioned in my post above, it depends a lot on the exit strategy. At least, the lessee goes into the transaction knowing what to expect and knowing what they will get for their money -- unlike "free" sites, if you wish to compare.

In my opinion, it is the same as leasing a home. Is there a market for homes to lease? Sure is!!!

Are people telling prospective renter's to stay away and do not rent or lease because they will not own the home? Probably not!

I rest my case.