CCPA Privacy Notice

Effective Date: June 2, 2023
‍Last modified on: July 05, 2023

‍‍HomeMeta Privacy Notice for California Residents

This Privacy Notice for California Residents supplements the information contained in our Privacy Policy and applies solely to all visitors, users, and others who reside in the State of California (“consumers” or “you”). We adopt this notice to comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) and any terms defined in the CCPA have the same meaning when used in this notice. As used throughout this notice HomeMeta is referred to as “we,” “us,” or “our company.”

I. Received or Collected Information

This Table Discloses Information We May Receive or Collect, andInformation We Do Not Receive or Collect.

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* Social security (tax ID), driver’s license and passport numbers, and citizenship and occupational information may be collected pursuant to Treasury Department anti-money laundering rules when the buyer is an entity and is not using a bank loan to purchase residential real property. These Treasury Department rules are designed to uncover the identity of the natural person behind the entity. This information will be required to given to the title company when the transaction involves all of the following:

• Property is within the counties of Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo or Santa Clara
• Sales price is $300,000 or more
• Buyer is a “Legal Entity” such as a corporation, LLC or partnership
• Property is a 1 to 4 unit residential property (including condos)
• Some part of the purchase is made using ANY wired funds, cashier’s check, certified check, traveler’s check, personal check, business check, money order in any form, or a virtual currency (such as Bitcoin)
• Purchase is done without a bank loan or similar forms of external financing
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Since a transaction will typically not close without the information, when required, our brokerage may assist the title company in working with an entity buyer to gather it.

California law under the CCPA defines “personal information” broadly. However, there are some exceptions. Personal information does not include:

• Publicly available information from government records.
• Deidentified or aggregated consumer information.
• Information excluded from the CCPA’s scope, like:
• Health or medical information covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA) or clinical trial data;
• Personal information covered by certain sector-specific privacy laws, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FRCA), the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) or California Financial Information Privacy Act (FIPA), and the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act of 1994.

II. Where do we receive information from?

Our company receives information directly from youOur real estate business receives personal information primarily for the purpose of transacting real property sales and purchases. Nearly all of the information which we directly collect about you is received from the physical or electronic documents that constitute the real estate transaction. For example, the real property purchase agreement will contain your name, signature, purchase price and other personal information. Or, for example, a seller is required by law and contract to give the buyer various disclosures concerning a range of issues associated with the property, some of which information may constitute personal information. Once these documents come into our possession, by law a broker must maintain such record for three years. Typically, we retain our files for a longer period.

Cookies and Other Technologies

Our website and some of our online products and services, email messages and advertisements may use cookies, log files and other technologies to collect information about your use of our website, products and services and third-party websites that have a business relationship with our service providers. A cookie is a small data file that is sent to your browser from a website's servers and stored on your computer's hard drive, and is used to store information such as the name of your Internet service provider, your Internet Protocol (IP) address, the website that referred you, your general geographic location, the pages you request, and the dates and times of those requests.Most internet browsers are initially set to accept cookies. If you prefer, you may set your browser so that it refuses cookies or alerts you when cookies are being created on your hard drive. You should be aware that by not accepting cookies you may impair your ability to use certain portions of our website, products and services.

Our company receives some information indirectly

Multiple Listing Service (“MLS”). An MLS is a database of properties for sale that is available and disseminated to and accessible by all other real estate agents who are participants or subscribers to the MLS. Property information submitted to an MLS describes the price, terms and conditions under which the seller’s property is offered for sale. It is likely that a significant number of real estate practitioners in any given area are participants or subscribers to an MLS. The MLS may also be part of a reciprocal agreement to which other MLSs belong. Real estate agents who belong to other MLSs that have reciprocal agreements with the MLS in which the property is placed may also have access to the information submitted the MLS. The MLS may further transmit listing information to internet sites that post property listings online. The placing of a listing on the MLS allows wide exposure of the property to the marketplace which tends to impact the sales price.

Title Companies and Escrows. These service providers are essential to real estate transactions. Not only do title and escrow companies receive information, but they supply invaluable assistance in providing information about all aspects of a real estate transaction to brokers and agents.

 
Lenders and mortgage brokers. Typically, agents and brokers will be in contact throughout the transaction with a lender or representative of a lender to keep informed on the progress of the lending process. During this process an agent may receive personal information relating to the loan, the loan application, the buyer’s qualifications for the loan, documents requested by the lender, or reasons why a loan is being denied, approved or delayed.

City, county, state and other agencies of government. Many aspects of a real estate transaction rely on information received from a variety of government sources. For example, the assessor will typically provide their estimate of the square footage of the house, among various other types of data concerning the property.

Reporting companies. Reporting companies will access public records for information concerning the property and then provide a summary of the information. This information is not typically considered “personal information.”

Other sources of information. Neighborhood advertising information; real property portals such as Realtor.com; HOA documents from HOAs; appraisers and appraisals; investigators, inspectors and contractors; and legally and contractually required disclosures generated by the seller are other sources of information from which personal information may be collected or received.

III. Use, Sharing and Sale of Personal Information

Use of Personal information

Assistance in buying or selling a house. The primary use of personal information is to help you buy or sell a house. For example, if you are seeking to buy a house, the personal information we collect will help our agents find the right house for you. If you are seeking to sell a house, the information will be used to find a buyer who will purchase your house on the agreed price and terms.
 

Web technologies. We  use cookies and other technologies to verify user information, to make your use of our website, products and services more convenient and to assist in understanding your use of our website, products and services. We also use cookies to measure website activity and generate statistics that allow us to improve the services we provide online.

Additional Uses. We may use the personal information we collect for the following additional business purposes:

• To create, maintain, customize and secure the communications between you and us.
• To assist in preventing transaction fraud.
• To provide, support, personalize, and develop our website, products, and services.
• To personalize your online experience with us and to deliver content and product and service offerings relevant to your interests, including targeted offers and ads through our website, third-party sites, and via email or text message (with your consent, where required by law).
• For testing, research, analysis, and product development, including to develop and improve our website, products, and services.
• To respond to law enforcement requests and as required by applicable law, court order, or governmental regulations.
• As described to you when collecting your personal information or as otherwise set forth in the CCPA.
• To evaluate or conduct a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of our company’s assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which personal information held by our company is among the assets.

Sharing of personal information and chart

Sharing information to promote the sale or purchase of homes. The sharing of information is integral to the process of buying or selling a house. First and foremost, we will share information with other agents and brokers, and sellers and buyers. It is only through the sharing of information that our agents can find the right house for you as a buyer, or if you are a seller, find a buyer who will purchase your house on the agreed price and terms  .

 Information supplied and received from the Multiple Listing Service (“MLS”). An MLS is both a source of information and a means to share information. As described in the previous section, an MLS is a database of properties for sale that is available and disseminated to and accessible by all other real estate agents who are participants or subscribers to the MLS.  Property information submitted to an MLS describes the price, terms and conditions under which the seller’s property is offered for sale. An MLS will also act as a repository of information related to properties that have been sold through the MLS.

Since it is likely that a significant number of real estate practitioners in any given area are participants or subscribers to an MLS data, the sharing of MLS will typically be widespread. Moreover, an MLS may also be part of a reciprocal agreement to which other MLSs belong. Real estate agents who belong to other MLSs that have reciprocal agreements with the MLS in which the property is placed may also have access to the information submitted the MLS. The MLS may further transmit listing information to internet sites that post property listing online. The placing of a listing on the MLS allows wide exposure of the property to the marketplace which tends to impact the sales price.

Third parties we commonly share information with. As a real estate brokerage, we may typically share your personal information with the following third parties:

• Brokers and agents
• Buyers and sellers
• Multiple Listing Services
• Real estate portals such as Realtor.com
• Title companies and escrows
• Lenders
• Service providers such as inspectors, appraisers or reporting companies
• Other third-parties as necessary to complete the transaction

This table discloses which types of information our company has and has not disclosed for a business purpose within the last 12 months.

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* Social security (tax ID), driver’s license and passport numbers, and citizenship and occupational information may be collected pursuant to Treasury Department anti-money laundering rules when the buyer is an entity and is not using a bank loan to purchase residential real property. These Treasury Department rules are designed to uncover the identity of the natural person behind the entity. This information will be required to given to the title company when the transaction involves all of the following:

• Property is within the counties of Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, San Mateo or Santa Clara
• Sales price is $300,000 or more
• Buyer is a “Legal Entity” such as a corporation, LLC or partnership
• Property is a 1 to 4 unit residential property (including condos)
• Some part of the purchase is made using ANY wired funds, cashier’s check, certified check, traveler’s check, personal check, business check, money order in any form, or a virtual currency (such as Bitcoin)
• Purchase is done without a bank loan or similar forms of external financing

Since a transaction will typically not close without the information, when required, our brokerage may assist the title company in working with an entity buyer to gather it.

Sale of personal information and chart

“Sale” of information through MLS. Membership in the MLS confers benefits to an agent or broker. As part of membership, the agent or broker is bound to place their listings on the MLS and provide various information including pictures, price, terms and the conditions under which the property is offered for sale, unless the seller opts-out. As a member of the MLS, brokers and agents may be eligible to receive commissions offered through the MLS by other brokers. In this sense the placing of a listing on the MLS may constitute a “sale” of information as defined by the CCPA, even though the brokerage does not receive direct financial remuneration from the MLS.Referrals. With your consent, our company may share your personal information, your name and phone number with other agents and brokers for purposes of referring you to another brokerage. For this we often negotiate a referral fee in line with the traditional model of brokerage referral relationships. Such a fee does constitute a sale.

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Other referrals. Referrals other than to agents and brokers do not typically involve a referral fee, since in most residential transactions the taking of a referral fee from a company such as an escrow or title company, mortgage broker, lender, or other settlement service provider is illegal under federal law. Even in those situations where it would be legally permitted, our agents will always disclose and obtain your consent before receiving a referral fee

This table discloses which types of information our company has and has not sold within the last 12 months.

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IV. Your Rights and Choices

If you are a California resident, you have certain rights regarding your personal information under the CCPA. This section describes your CCPA rights and explains how to exercise those rights.

Access to Specific Information

You have the right to request that we disclose certain information to you about our collection and use of your personal information over the past 12 months. You must make a verifiable consumer request as described below. Once we receive and confirm your verifiable consumer request, we will disclose to you:

• The categories of personal information we collected about you .
• The categories of sources from which we collected your personal information.
• Our business or commercial purpose for collecting or selling your personal information.
• The categories of third parties with whom we share your personal information.
• The specific pieces of personal information we collected about you.
• If  we sold or disclosed your personal information for a business purpose, we will provide two separate lists disclosing the following:
• The categories of personal information that we disclosed about you for a business purpose.
• The categories of personal information that we sold about you and the categories of third parties to whom the personal information was sold, by category of personal information for each third party to whom the personal information was sold.

If we deliver the information to you electronically, then the information will be portable and to the extent technically feasible, in a readily useable format that allows you to transmit it to another entity without hindrance.

Deletion Request Rights 

You have the right to request that we delete any of your personal information that we collected from you and retained, subject to certain exceptions. You must make a verifiable consumer request as described below. Once we receive and confirm your verifiable consumer request, we will delete (and direct our service providers to delete) your personal information from our records, unless an exception applies. However, we will not direct the MLS to delete your personal information. For that, you must contact the MLS directly .

We may deny your deletion request if retaining the information is necessary for us or our service provider(s) to:

• Retain transaction files or comply with any other legal obligation.  Brokers are required to hold all transaction files for a period of at least three years under California law. However, other information may be required to be held for longer periods.  
• Complete the transaction for which the personal information was collected, provide a good or service requested by you, or reasonably anticipated within the context of our ongoing business relationship with you, or otherwise perform our contract with you. For example, we will not delete your personal information while we are representing you in your real estate transaction.
• Detect security incidents, protect against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity; or prosecute those responsible for that activity.
• Debug to identify and repair errors that impair existing intended functionality.
• Exercise free speech, ensure the right of another consumer to exercise his or her right of free speech, or exercise another right provided for by law.
• Comply with the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act pursuant to Chapter 3.6 (commencing with Section 1546) of Title 12 of Part 2 of the Penal Code.
• Engage in public or peer-reviewed scientific, historical, or statistical research in the public interest that adheres to all other applicable ethics and privacy laws, when of our information is likely to render impossible or seriously impair the achievement of such research, so long as you have provided informed consent.
• Enable solely internal uses that are reasonably aligned with consumer expectations based on your relationship with us.
• Otherwise use your personal information, internally, in a lawful manner that is compatible with the context in which you provided it.

How to Exercise Your Access and Deletion Rights

To exercise the access and deletion rights described above, please submit a verifiable consumer request to us by either:

• Calling us at [See contact at the bottom of this page]
• Visiting: HomeMeta.io/opt-out
• [PASSWORD PROTECTED ACCOUNT INSTRUCTIONS] (assuming the business allows this method)

You may also make a request on behalf of your minor child. You may only make a request for access to or disclosure of your personal information twice within a 12-month period. The request must:

• Provide sufficient information that allows us to reasonably verify you are the person about whom we collected personal information or an authorized representative.
• Describe your request with sufficient detail that allows us to properly understand, evaluate, and respond to it.

We cannot respond to your request or provide you with personal information if we are unable to verify your identity or authority to make the request and confirm the personal information relates to you.
You do not need to create a user account with us to make a request. However, we do consider requests made through your password protected account sufficiently verified when the request relates to personal information associated with that specific account. If you provide us with personal information in your request, we will only use it to verify the requestor’s identity or authority to make the request.

Response Timing and Format

We will try to respond to your request within 45 days of its receipt. If we require more time, we will inform you of the reason and extension period in writing. But the extension period will be no more than an additional 45 days.

If you have an account with us, we will deliver our written response to that account. If you do not have an account with us, we will deliver our written response by mail or electronically, at your option.
Any disclosures we provide will only cover the 12-month period preceding our receipt of your request. The response we provide will also explain the reasons we cannot comply with a request, if applicable.

If we deliver the information to you electronically, then the information will be portable and to the extent technically feasible, in a readily useable format that allows you to transmit it from another entity without hindrance.

We do not charge a fee to process or respond to your request unless it is excessive, repetitive, or manifestly unfounded. If we determine that the request warrants a fee, we will tell you why we made that decision and provide you with a cost estimate before completing your request.

Personal Information Sales Opt-Out and Opt-In Rights

If you are 16 years of age or older, you have the right to direct us to not sell your personal information at any time (the “right to opt-out”). We do not sell the personal information of consumers we actually know are less than 16 years of age, unless we receive affirmative authorization (the “right to opt-in”) from either the consumer who is between 13 and 16 years of age, or the parent or guardian of a consumer less than 13 years of age. Consumers who opt-in to personal information sales may opt-out of future sales at any time.

To exercise the right to opt-out, you (or your authorized representative) may submit a request to us by visiting the following link:

[HYPERLINKED URL with the title “Do Not Sell My Personal Information”]

Once you make an opt-out request, we will wait at least twelve (12) months before asking you to reauthorize personal information sales. However, you may change your mind and opt back in to personal information sales at any time by:

[OPT-IN INSTRUCTIONS]

You do not need to create an account with us to exercise your opt-out rights. We will only use personal information provided in an opt-out request to review and comply with the request.

Non-Discrimination

We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA rights. Unless permitted by the CCPA, we will not:

• Deny you goods or services.
• Charge you different prices or rates for goods or services, deny discounts or other benefits, or impose penalties.
• Provide a different level or quality of goods or services to you.
• Suggest that you may receive a different price or rate for goods or services or a different level or quality of goods or services.

However, we may offer you certain financial incentives permitted by the CCPA that can result in different prices, rates, or quality levels. Any CCPA-permitted financial incentive we offer will reasonably relate to your personal information’s value and contain written terms that describe the program’s material aspects. Participation in a financial incentive program requires your prior opt in consent, which you may revoke at any time.

We currently do not provide financial incentives.

Changes to Our Privacy Notice

We reserve the right to amend this privacy notice at our discretion and at any time. When we make changes to this privacy notice, we will post the updated notice on our website and update the notice’s effective date. Your continued use of our website following the posting of changes constitutes your acceptance of such changes.
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Contact Information

If you have any questions or comments about this notice, the ways in which we collect and use your information, your choices and rights regarding such use, or if you wish to exercise your rights under California law, please do not hesitate to contact us at:

Phone: 310-980-0752
Website: HomeMeta.io/opt-out
Email: lhall@firstteam.com
Postal Address:
HomeMeta
Attn: Leah Hall
108 Pacifica, Suite 300, Irvine, CA, 92618
Attention: CCPA Opt Out