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eNet Advertising `Domain Sell-off' Presents Opportunities
for Lenders, Real Estate Companies, and Others
By Moyna Bernstein 
It's no surprise that smart investment money is into Real Estate these days, and publisher Financial News Network is no exception... well sort of... FNN, as part of a 10 year business plan has increased the value of its Real Estate, only we're not talking brick'n mortar here folks... We're referring to Internet real estate in the form of established domain names. Now this real estate is for sale or lease.Established circa 1995, Financial News Network
pulled away from former parent company The National Financial News Services, with a 10 year plan to establish itself as a major player in the Internet publishing industry. FNN publications and services, as marketed by eNet Advertising, have been largely successful in the online mortgage rate aggregation and mortgage / real estate leads businesses, currently valued around $10 million. This includes US Mortgage News, US Mortgage Shopper, US Housing News, US Real Estate
Shopper, and the services divisions Lenders Compete You Save, and Reloc-1 (real estate network). During the development of these sites, nearly one thousand domains (web addresses) have been in use for local and national branding but are no longer needed. It is these branding domains which are listed for sale or lease as part of the domain sell-off event. An example of a local domain in the sell-off is www.TampaMortgageRates.com which would be an ideal web address for a Tampa based mortgage company servicing the local area. There are literally hundreds of domains like this in the domain sell-off.In an Interview, Mr. Ronald Shur CEO Financial News Network conveys "In the late nineties domains were easy to get and quite inexpensive. We had planned
on liquidating at the end of the establishment phase, but none of us dreamed that the domains would reach the value that they have. Our `excess inventory' of domains is nearly as valuable as the full [FNN] corporation itself, well into the eight figure range." Mr. Shur continues on the subject of representation, "We needed to be absolutely solid in the purchase and lease-purchase contracts with an eye on
both our safety and the comfort level of the buyers. As such, we are working with Attorney John W. Dozier, Jr. and the firm Dozier Internet Law, P.C. with specialties including online lawyers and web attorneys who have tried hundreds of cases, and Internet lawyers who have helped raise $100 million in venture capital". The FNN `Domain Sell-off' is underway, with domains being offered for straight
sale (cash buyout) or under an attractive lease purchase arrangement. Because of the logistics and intellectual property issues with such an event, the process is being overseen by O. Hampton Brown III Esq. with marketing by eNet Advertising. Attorney Brown has placed emphasis on creating an environment where the purchaser (or lease-purchaser if such is opted) acquires the selected namespace assets (domain name registration) in a professional manner. "One
of the hardest aspects of the sell-off", says Attorney Brown, "... is establishing fair market value for the various collections of domains. There is little precedent for valuation because the FNN collections are easily among the largest to ever be offered for sale. The overall value could easily exceed $50 million." An example of a domain collection for sale is Best State Mortgage Rates. The
collection of 50 domains in the format "www.BestFloridaMortgageRates.com" is complete and will be sold (or leased) as a full collection. "Where this gets unusual, says Attorney Brown, is that anyone who owns a similar collection wouldn't consider parting with them at any price. As such, we've worked with industry leaders from technology, business and marketing to develop fair market values".
The domain collections are only a small cross section of the current offerings. City and state specific local branded domains, and a huge variety of national branding domains are also available. An example of national branding is the web address "www.USInsuranceRates.com". "There are some incredibly hot domains in national branding category, says Mr. Newman marketing specialist for eNet Advertising. The usinsurancerates.com domain itself is easily valued in
the millions and given a bidding war at auction could go for well over ten million". Technology for the FNN operation has been provided under a joint venture agreement with national service provider Ameridat. Speaking from the Ameridat office, administrator Kenneth Eves offered his viewpoint of the situation. "Ameridat has been working closely with FNN for years... the valuation of the publication domains have gone up tremendously in the decade. FNN has proven
that the localization concept is worthy of attention and these domains will be invaluable in the hands of the new owners". Ready to drop a check for ten million to walk away with a prize domains like USInusranceRates.com? Don't expect to do it right away. The initial sell-off has started for individual domains not part of a collection and not valued over one hundred thousand dollars. The formal auction of premium domains is expected
to start no earlier than the 4th quarter of 2006. However, for the right offer FNN is still glad to discuss options. "Everything is negotiable, says Attorney Brown; If the right buyer has an offer on even the most valuable domains, such will certainly be considered. In fact, closed door negotiations for purchase of domains is currently underway with at least a few valuable domains. I'm not at liberty to discuss this further".
Additional information is available at: www.FOR-SALE-DOMAINS.com eNet Advertising is located at 331 West Boot Road, West Chester PA 19380. Initial contact can be made in writing, addressed to "domain sell-off" in care of eNet Advertising. ---
Moyra Bernstein is a correspondent for US Housing News.
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