Do's and Dont's for buying a website

I plan to buy 1 or 2 existing, content rich site especially a Web Directory. This is the first time I'm going to do something like that. Can anyone plz tell me the main processes involved and the traps I should be looking for before making the payment? I have heard that there are people who try to sell websites that they do not own . I would like to make the payment through PayPal. Is there any precaution tat I should be making before the payment? Any help is much appreciated. Thanx

 

I took a few hours out one night and wrote this checklist

checklist for buying web site

Hope it helps

 

Nice tip. I am trying to take over a competitor site but he just does not want to sell

 

Thanks a lot . That was an excellent article and it answers most of my doubts.

 

NP, Glad you liked it.

 

Wow, that's a terrific list! Covers quite a lot of ground. Thanks for sharing.

 

Wow, you should be earning well

 

never buy a site if the previous owner was banned by adsense.

 

Well, just verify what the actual cost of running the sites to gain the income that the seller claims to make every month. Some people may inflate profits or take one month of high profits to determine that that would be sustainable. At the same time, some may state turnover and not mentioned the actual cost involved in advertising and maintaining the site.

 

Usually how does the transfer occur? Will they just transfer the account to our name? And how much is the usual rate for making use of an Escrow service? Also, can someone plz suggest where I can get legal help for low rate, for buying a website? Thanx a lot for all your valuable replies