However, you are right about the agreement issue and the fact you are living in two different countries.
You should make sure to have strong terms against misuses of the domain name (spamming, phishing, porn, illegal activities, etc.)
Lastly, the owner of the domain is the name shown in the Whois... The status os locked so that nobody can try to take over ownership of domain.
BUT you must keep ownership of the domain name until the full amount is paid, otherwise there is a high chance he will take ownership without a penny.
Lastly, note that domain name is totally different than FTp and control panel access. FTP/Control [panel, etc. is providede by your host. Domain name is totally independant ! You don't need to unlock and change WHOis data so that buyer can change hist hostin. Just keep ownership of the domain name and see if you can change the DNS setting somewhere to redirect the domain name to the IP or host server of the buyer.
Also if I change the whois information, that spam even then can be traced back to me...?and change to whom the one leasing the site?
Has the person provided any business credentials? Have you been able to verify them, that he is indeed who he says he is and has shown proof of a history of "honest business dealings"?
When you say "lease" do you mean you will keep control of the domain for the first 6 months AND IF your lessor is "happy" (with traffic, etc.) THEN he will pay the balance of a purchase price and you will transfer the domain?
I'm not at all a fan of "domain leasing". Buy the domain or don't, but don't trouble me in any way.
I'm aware that some folks like to "test traffic" and one way they do this is by leasing a domain. My favorite version of this approach is a lease-purchase where the income from the leased/parked domain is used to pay-off the purchase price. To me that is the seller/lessor being treated as a dupe, i.e., using the domains built in cash flow "to pay the seller".
My $.02: Forget leasing the domain. There are too many issues, especially across countries, and we really can't give adequate advice - tailored to your specific circumstances - without you providing far more information. We don't allow that type of information to be posted and even if we did were not international lawyers.
IF you control the domain record, during "the lease period", you could put a stop to most/all "bad practices" (spam?) by altering the authoritative DNS record.
My gut feel is "I don't like it" but if you're willing to accept some level of risk - for $300.00 paid over 6 months - AND you maintain WhoIs control, to minimize risk - then chances are you will have a learning experience that won't be that costly even if it doesn't quite work out.
Safe bet: Negotiate a fixed price, payable now.
