HomesByOwner Privacy Statement
This privacy statement discloses the privacy practices for http://www.homesbyowner.com.
HomesByOwner
is the sole owner of the information collected on this site. We will not sell, share, or rent this
information to others in ways different from what is disclosed in this
statement. HomesByOwner collects
information from our users at several different points on our website.
In order
to advertise a home on this website, a user must first complete the registration
form. During registration a user is
required to give their contact information (such as name and email address). This information is used to contact the user
about the services on our site for which they have expressed interest.
A
cookie is a piece of data stored on the user’s hard drive containing
information about the user. Usage of a
cookie is in no way linked to any personally identifiable information while on
our site. Once the user closes their
browser, the cookie simply terminates.
For instance, by setting a cookie on our site, the user would not have
to log in a password more than once, thereby saving time while on our
site. If a user rejects the cookie,
they may still use our site. The only
drawback to this is that the user will be limited in some areas of our
site. Cookies can also enable us to
track and target the interests of our users to enhance the experience on our
site.
Some
of our business partners use cookies on our site (for example,
advertisers). However, we have no
access to or control over these cookies.
We
use IP addresses to analyze trends, administer the site, track user’s movement,
and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. IP addresses are not linked to personally
identifiable information.
We
will share aggregated demographic information with our partners and
advertisers. This is not linked to any personal information that can identify
any individual person.
We
use an outside shipping company to ship orders, and a credit card processing
company to bill users for goods and services. These companies do not retain,
share, store or use personally identifiable information for any secondary
purposes.
We
partner with one or more other parties to provide specific services and offers.
When a user lists their home on HomesByOwner, we will share names and other
contact information that is necessary for the third party to provide these
services and offers.
These
parties are not allowed to use personally identifiable information except for
the purpose of providing these services or offers.
This
web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that HomesByOwner is not
responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they
leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site
that collects personally identifiable information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by
this Web site.
This website takes every precaution to protect our
users’ information. When users submit
sensitive information via the website, your information is protected both
online and off-line.
When our registration/order form asks users to enter
sensitive information (such as credit card number and/or social security
number), that information is encrypted and is protected with the best
encryption software in the industry - SSL.
While on a secure page, such as our order form, the lock icon on the
bottom of Web browsers such as Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet
Explorer becomes locked, as opposed to un-locked, or open, when you are just
‘surfing’.
If you have any questions about the security at our
website, you can send an email to info@homesbyowner.com.
Special
Offers
We
send all new members a welcoming email to verify password and username.
Established members will occasionally receive information on products, services,
special deals, and a newsletter. Out of respect for the privacy of our users we
present the option to not receive these types of communications. Please see our
choice and opt-out below.
Site
and Service Updates
We
also send the user site and service announcement updates. Members are not able
to un-subscribe from service announcements, which contain important information
about the service. We communicate with the user to provide requested services
and in regards to issues relating to their account via email or phone.
Correction/Updating Personal
Information:
If
a user’s personally identifiable information changes (such as your zip code),
or if a user no longer desires our service, we will endeavor to provide a way
to correct, update or remove that user’s personal data provided to us. This can usually be done at the FSBO User
Center page or by emailing our
Customer Support at info@homesbyowner.com
.
Our
users are given the opportunity to ‘opt-out’ of having their information used
for purposes not directly related to our.
For example, our FSBO User Center page has an ‘opt-out’ mechanism so
users who advertise a home with us, but don’t want any marketing material, can keep
their email address off of our lists.
You can opt-out by clicking on the edit button for the User Information
and checking the “Do not send me any special offers”.
If
we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on our
privacy statement so our users are always aware of what information we collect,
how we use it, and under circumstances we disclose it. If at any point we decide to use personally
identifiable information in a manner different from that stated at the time it
was collected, we will notify users by way of an email. Users will have a choice as to whether or
not we use their information in this different manner. We will use information
in accordance with the privacy policy under which the information was
collected.