$1 Buyout Lease for Boom Lifts

The dollar buyout lease is the most ownership-oriented lease structure available. The payment is higher than a fair market value lease on the same machine because the lender amortizes nearly the entire purchase price across the term, leaving a nominal one-dollar purchase option at the end. You own the machine at payoff. The title transfers for a dollar. No residual negotiation, no fair market value appraisal, no decision to make about returning versus keeping.

It looks like a loan. It behaves like a loan. The accounting treatment differs, and the label on the document says lease, but the economics and the ownership outcome are identical to a purchase loan. We structure dollar buyout leases on boom lifts from $50,000 on up, new or used, with most deals closing in roughly two weeks. B and C credit considered.

Payment Structure and Total Cost

The monthly payment on a dollar buyout lease runs slightly higher than an equivalent straight loan because the lease structure involves the lessor holding title during the term, which adds a thin administrative cost layer compared to a pure loan. The spread is usually small, often less than a percentage point in effective rate. Most buyers do not notice the difference in the monthly number.

Total cost over the term is essentially the financed principal plus interest, same as a loan. The nominal buyout price of one dollar has no material effect on total cost because it is not funded by the lender. You pay the last month's installment, exercise the purchase option for one dollar, and the title transfers.

Comparing to the fair market value lease: the FMV lease has a lower monthly payment because the lender is only amortizing down to a residual, not to zero. But at term end, you face a purchase at fair market value or a return. If you intend to keep the machine regardless, the dollar buyout total cost is typically comparable to or lower than the FMV lease total cost including the end-of-term purchase.

Comparing to the standard equipment loan: the loan puts the asset on your balance sheet with a lien from day one. The dollar buyout lease may be structured as an off-balance-sheet operating lease under certain accounting rules, though ASC 842 has narrowed that distinction for most businesses. Your accountant should advise on current treatment for your entity.

Who Chooses the Dollar Buyout

Operators who want full ownership at term end but prefer the lease label for accounting or internal approval reasons are the primary users. Some businesses have internal capital expenditure approval thresholds that trigger additional review. A lease under a certain dollar amount may route through a simpler approval process than a purchase loan of the same size. The dollar buyout delivers ownership while fitting the lease approval category.

Facility maintenance operations and industrial plant maintenance crews often operate this way. Their budget process distinguishes between capex and operating expense, and a lease payment falls in the operating line regardless of whether the underlying structure is economically a purchase.

Rental yards and contractors who always intend to hold their machines but want the flexibility language of a lease also use this structure. The flexibility is somewhat nominal, since exercising the buyout for a dollar is the obvious choice, but some operators prefer knowing that a return option technically exists even if they never use it.

Operators who want to pull equity from a machine later have options available regardless of whether the original deal was a loan or a dollar buyout. A sale-leaseback works on a machine you own outright, which is the outcome after exercising the dollar buyout option. The path to that liquidity event is the same.

Dollar Buyout Leases Across Boom Types

Dollar buyout structures are available across the full range of boom lift categories. Rough-terrain booms in the 60-to-80-foot class, which run $80,000 to $150,000 used and $150,000 to $250,000 new, are the most common unit financed this way. The machine is expected to last well through a 60-month term and the operator has no reason to return it at term end, which makes the dollar buyout the obvious structure.

Larger machines, including 100-foot and above platforms like the JLG 800S or the Genie S-85, are also structured as dollar buyouts when the buyer is committed to ownership. These machines represent significant capital investment and operators want clear title at the end of the term, not an FMV negotiation on a machine they built their estimating around.

The structure is less common on towable or trailer-mounted units that some buyers might return, but still available if the buyer wants it. Any boom we finance can be structured as a dollar buyout if that is the right end-of-term outcome for the business.

Own the Machine at Term End for a Dollar

If the machine is going to stay in your fleet, the dollar buyout puts ownership on a fixed schedule with predictable monthly payments. Tell us the unit and the amount. We build out the payment and close the deal. $50,000 minimum, B and C credit welcome, funding in roughly two weeks.