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Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Effective as of February 19, 2020
Updated on January 24, 2023

 

Introduction

We are committed to respecting your right to privacy and protecting your information when you visit GenStoneRealty.com and use our services. To better protect your privacy, GenStone Realty and/or our applicable subsidiaries and/or affiliates (collectively, “GenStone”, “GenStone Realty”, “us”, “our” or “we”) provide this Privacy Policy, which explains our information practices and the choices you can make about the way in which your information is collected and used on this website, any other website operated by us where this policy appears or is otherwise accessible by you and/or via any software applications we have created and made available for your use on your mobile device(s). In order to do so we need to collect, process and retain some personal information about you so that we can deliver our products and services in a way that supports your unique needs and interests. We want you to know that we take your privacy and the security of your personal information seriously. We also want to be transparent about the types of personal information we collect about you, how we use your personal information, and with whom we share your personal information and why. This Privacy Policy is intended to provide you with that information and to inform you of the choices you have regarding the use and retention of your personal information.

 

About This Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to the GenStoneRealty.com website and its associated products and services (“Website”). The terms governing your use of our Website are defined within our Terms of Use. Please note that by using our Website, you are consenting to the terms defined within our Terms of Use and this Privacy Policy.

Additionally, we may develop and release new products and services from time-to-time. If the release of these products or services results in material changes to how we collect, use or share personal information about you, we will update this Privacy Policy accordingly or will provide additional notices to inform you of such changes.

 

The Types of Personal Information We Collect About You and How We Use It

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, personal information is considered to be “any information that can be used to uniquely identify you or that can be reasonably linked, directly or indirectly, with you.” Our use of the term “personal information” includes other similar terms under applicable privacy laws-such as “personal data” and “personally identifiable information.”  The specific pieces of personal information we collect about you depends on how you use our Website and what services you subscribe to. However, the general categories of personal information we collect about you are described by the following:

 

Account Data

Account Data is information that we collect about you when you inquire about or subscribe to our products and services. This type of information typically includes name, email address, phone number and mailing address, and enables us to contact you for purposes such as discussing your interest in our products and services, creating an account for you to access our online services. Once your account has been created, additional information about you, such as account and communication preferences, may also be requested to enable you to configure and personalize your account. If you use some of our additional services, we might ask you for more sensitive data like your income, housing history and credit score.  If you contribute information, such as agent reviews, we will store that as well.  You may also provide information about other people through our services such as sharing a listing with someone; we will collect that person’s email address as part of your account.  Whether you provide this additional information is up to you. You can choose what additional information you wish to provide, make changes to existing information, and to opt out of future communications at any time by updating your account preferences.

 

Usage Data

Usage Data is information that we collect about you regarding your use of our Website, and typically includes the following:

  • Online identifiers such as IP addresses, MAC addresses and “cookie” data (see “What is a Cookie and How Is It Used?” for more information).
  • Information about the types of devices you are using to access the Website including device type, browser type, operating system and language settings.
  • Information about the Website pages you visit, including the date, time, and length of your page visits.
  • Information about which online services you use and how you interact with those services.

 

Usage Data helps us to optimize the design and operation of our Website to best suit your needs and interests. It also helps us to diagnose, troubleshoot and fix any technical issues involving our Website.

 

What is a Cookie and How Is It Used?

A “cookie” is a small text file that is stored on your computer and makes it easy for you to move around a website without having to continually re-enter information such as your username, password, preferences, and so on. We use cookies to store our Website users’ preferences, record user-specific information including what pages they visit or access, customize the web page content based on users’ browser type, and to enhance your overall user experience. We also use cookies for advertising purposes. In such instances, a unique ad-serving cookie will be placed on your computer by us or one of our advertising partners. Other Usage Data may also be collected to inform, optimize and deliver targeted ads to you.

 

Tracking Disclosures

We may use tracking technologies to collect information about your online activities over time and across third-party websites or other online services (behavioral tracking). “Web beacons” or clear .gifs are small pieces of code placed on a Web page to monitor behavior and collect data about the visitors viewing a Web page.  For example, Web beacons or similar technology can be used to count the users who visit a website or to deliver a cookie to the browser of a visitor viewing that page.  We may use Web beacons or similar technology on our Services from time to time for this and other purposes. We will comply with web browser “do not track” signals that you may set in your web browser regarding the collection of personal information about your online activities over time and across third-party web-sites or online services.

 

Public Sources and Third Parties

GenStone Realty collects information from public sources, such as county and state tax and property records, government agencies and multiple listing services (MLS).  Most of this information is about properties, not people.  However, some of the information we collect, like the identity of a property’s owner or real estate license information, may relate to individuals.

 

Third-Party Links

Occasionally, at our discretion, we may include or offer third-party products or services on our website. These third-party sites have separate and independent privacy policies. We therefore have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these linked sites. However, we seek to protect the integrity of our site and welcome any feedback about these sites.

 

Surveys

Sometimes our site requests information from users via surveys. Participation in these surveys is voluntary, and you may choose not to disclose this information simply by not taking the survey. A survey could ask for information such as a name and address, as well as demographic information, such as your zip code or age.

 

User Submissions

If you participate in any online forum/communities, chat sessions and/or blogs, or otherwise post in any user comment field visible to other users of our Services, any information that you submit or post will be visible to and may be read, collected or used by others who use our Services.  We are not responsible for any information, including personally identifiable information, you chose to submit in any such user comment field.

 

Leads and Referrals – Special Consent

By submitting a request or inquiry about real estate (for sale and/or for rent), moving services, mortgage services, insurance products, credit information or any other product(s), service(s), offering(s), procedure(s), detail(s) or matter(s) advertised or promoted on or through any of our Services, you are providing your express written consent to be contacted by GenStone Realty and/or by our associated advertisers, lead customers, subscribers, professional service providers and other Business Providers for marketing, informational and/or other similar or related purposes in connection with such request.  You further understand and agree that you may be contacted by telephone device (including being contacted on a recorded line and potentially by use of automated dialing systems and artificial or prerecorded voice messaging), email, mail or otherwise, based on the phone number, email address and/or other data you have provided in the request form you completed and submitted to GenStone Realty through our services.  This consent applies even if your phone number, email address or other data is on a corporate, federal, State, local or other do-not-contact type of list or directory (such as the U.S. National Do Not Call Registry).  You are not required to consent as a condition of purchasing any products or services from GenStone Realty or any of our advertisers, customers, subscribers, professional service providers or other Business Providers.  You agree that your submitted request or inquiry (as described above) acts as your electronic signature for this consent.  You acknowledge that for text, SMS, calls and other electronic messages that message and data rates (for example, from your network provider) may apply.

 

Sharing of Personal Information We Collect

Except as noted in the table below, we do not sell, trade, rent, or otherwise disclose your personal information to third parties. Where we do share personal information about you with third parties, their use of that information is strictly limited to the following:

 

Categories of Recipients Reason for Sharing
Vendors and Service Providers We often work with vendors and service providers who help support our business; for example, by providing technical infrastructure to support the operation of our Website or performing other business functions on our behalf. In such cases, we may need to provide them access to information about you so that they can deliver these services to us.
Advertising Partners Advertising partners help us to deliver targeted, personalized content to you through our Website. The use of advertising partners may involve the sharing of certain information about you. This information is shared to enable us and our advertising partners to understand your interests and preferences, and to deliver advertisements that are the most relevant to you.
Law Enforcement Agencies In certain circumstances, we may be obligated to share information about you with law enforcement agencies, regulators, and other government authorities when we have a good faith belief that it is necessary to do so to comply with the law (both within and outside the United States). We may also share information about you with these entities when we believe it is necessary to detect, prevent and address fraud, the unauthorized use of our products and services, violations of our terms of use or other policies, and other harmful or illegal activity; or when it is necessary to protect ourselves, you or others (including as part of an investigation or regulatory inquiry), or to prevent death or imminent bodily harm.
Affiliated Businesses We may disclose information about you to third parties as part of any merger, acquisition, sale, or financing agreement. In such cases, we will continue to protect personal information in our possession in accordance with this Privacy Policy, and will provide notice before any personal information is transferred to the new owner or custodian, or becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

Personal Information Retention and Protection

Protecting the confidentiality of any personal information we have collected about you is of utmost importance to us. We retain your personal information for only as long as necessary to satisfy legitimate and essential business purposes such as maintaining the performance and availability of our Website and Services, complying with legal obligations, and resolving any disputes.

 

We also implement and maintain appropriate technical and operational controls (including encryption and access control measures) to protect your personal information while it is stored on our systems. With that said, please note that no system or data transmission is ever completely secure. While we make all reasonable efforts to protect the confidentiality of the information we collect about you, we make no guarantees, representations, or warranties with respect to the security of your personal information during storage or transmission.

 

Most of the information we collect about you is associated with your Website user account. To help protect your account, we encourage you to use a strong password that is unique to your use of our Website, never share your password with anyone, never store your password in an insecure location or manner, and logout of your account when you are finished using our Website. If you suspect that your password may have been compromised or that your account has been used in an unauthorized manner, we recommend you change your account password immediately. If you require any assistance with changing your account password, please contact us using the information and methods provided in the “How to Contact Us” section of this Privacy Policy.

 

Requesting Deletion of Your Personal Information

At your request, we will delete (or anonymize) any information we have collected about you over the last 12 months. Please understand, though, that we will not (nor are we legally obligated to) respond to more than two such requests within a 12-month period. We may also be legally required or allowed to retain your personal information in certain circumstances even when you’ve requested that we delete your information, including:

  • Where there is an unresolved issue relating to your account such as an outstanding credit, unpaid balance, or unresolved dispute.
  • Where we need to retain your personal information for our legal, tax, audit and accounting obligations as required by applicable law.
  • Where it is necessary to maintain your personal information for our legitimate business interests such as fraud prevention or to maintain the security of our Website.

 

To request deletion of any personal information we have collected about you within the last 12 months, please contact us using the information and methods provided in the “How to Contact Us” section of this Privacy Policy.

Please note that by deleting your personal information, you may lose access to or use of certain portions of our Website or services. Therefore, we strongly suggest that you confirm you no longer wish to use our Website or services before making such requests.

 

Notice to California Residents

If you are a resident of California, then the collection, processing and use of your personal information may be subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) as well as other applicable California state privacy laws.

As a company that does business in California and collects the personal information of some California residents, we are required to inform you of the consumer rights afforded to you under the CCPA, and to enable you to exercise those rights with regards to any personal information that we may have collected about you.

 

Your CCPA Rights

 

The Right to Know How Your Personal Information is Used

As a California resident, the CCPA affords you the right to request information about the collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information over the previous 12 months, including:

  • The categories and specific pieces of personal information about you that have been collected;
  • The purposes for which your personal information have been collected, used or sold (where applicable);
  • The categories of third parties with whom your personal information have been disclosed;
  • The categories of personal information about you that have been disclosed for a business purpose; and where applicable:
  • The categories of personal information about you sold to third parties; the categories of third parties to whom your personal information was sold; and the categories of personal information about you for each third party to whom your personal information was sold.

 

The Right to Request Deletion of Your Personal Information

You are also afforded the right to request the deletion of any personal information that has been collected about you over the prior 12 months, subject to certain exceptions. Please refer to “Requesting Deletion of Your Personal Information” section for more information.

 

The Right to “Opt Out” of the Sale of Your Personal Information

Under the CCPA, you may also request that your personal information not be sold to any third parties. Businesses who sell the personal information of California residents are required to respect “opt out” requests for a period of at least 12 months before requesting your authorization to resume selling your personal information.

 

The Right to Not Be Penalized for Exercising Your Rights

Lastly, business required to comply with the CCPA are prohibited from charging you a fee, requiring you to pay higher prices or rates for services, providing you a lower level of service, or terminating your services altogether for exercising your rights under the CCPA; understanding, however, that some personal information may need to be retained in order to continue to deliver those services to you.

 

How to Exercise My CCPA Rights

To request details regarding any information about you that we may have collected over the last 12 months, and/or to request the deletion of any such information, please contact us directly using the information and methods provided in the “How to Contact Us” section of this Privacy Policy.

Please note that the CCPA does not obligate us to provide the requested information to the same consumer more than twice in a 12-month period.

 

Opting Out of the Sale of Your Personal Information

We have undertaken extensive steps to identify whether any of our data sharing arrangements would constitute the “sale” of personal information under the CCPA. We continue to maintain that we do not sell, trade, rent or otherwise disclose personal information to a third party for “monetary or other valuable consideration” and, therefore, are not required to provide you the ability to “opt out” of the sale of your information since we do not engage in such activities.

 

Right to Equal Service

GenStone Realty will not discriminate against you because you exercised any of your rights, including, but not limited to, by:

  • Denying goods or services to you.
  • Charging different prices or rates for goods or services, including through the use of discounts or other benefits or imposing penalties.
  • Providing a different level or quality of goods or services to you.
  • Suggesting that you will receive a different price or rate for goods or services or a different level or quality of goods or services.

 

Complaints and Access Requests

If you are a Canadian resident and wish to request more information about our privacy practices, to request details regarding the personal information about you that we have collected, or to file a complaint, please refer to the “How to Contact Us” section of this Privacy Policy for more information.

 

GDPR Compliance

Information for Visitors Covered by GDPR

If you are a covered individual under the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) you have legal rights in relation to the data that we hold about you. These rights include:

  • Obtaining information regarding the processing of your data and access to the data that we hold about you. Please note that there may be circumstances where we are entitled to refuse requests for access to copies of data;
  • Requesting that we correct your data if it is inaccurate or incomplete;
  • Requesting that we erase your data in certain circumstances. Please note that there may be circumstances where you ask us to erase your data, but we are legally entitled to retain it;
  • Objecting to, and requesting that we restrict, our processing of your data in certain circumstances. Again, there may be circumstances where you object to, or ask us to restrict, our processing of your data but we are legally entitled to refuse that request;
  • Withdrawing your consent, although in certain circumstances it may be lawful for us to continue processing without your consent if we have another legitimate reason (other than consent) for doing so.

 

We may request that you prove your identity by providing us with a copy of a valid means of identification to comply with our security obligations and to prevent unauthorized disclosure of data. We reserve the right to charge you a reasonable administrative fee for any manifestly unfounded or excessive requests concerning your access to your data and for any additional copies of the data you request from us.

Individuals covered by the GDPR should contact us here to request further information.

 

Use of Our Website by Children 

Our Services are intended for a general audience and were not designed for use by children under 18 years of age.  We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. We would never knowingly collect personal information from or about children under the age of 18. If you are under 18 years of age, please do not use our Website or provide any of your personal information to us.

If you are a parent of a child under the age of 18 and become aware that your child may have provided their personal information to us, please contact us using the information and methods provided in the “How to Contact Us” section of this Privacy Policy.  As a business service, GenStone Realty does not target its offering toward, and does not knowingly collect any personal information from, users under thirteen (13) years of age.

 

Disclaimer

As noted in this Privacy Policy, we take our commitment to protection of your privacy seriously.  However, NOTHING IN THIS PROVACY POLICY IS INTENDED TO CREATE OR PROVIDE ANY RIGHT OF ACTION FOR VIOLATION.

 

Updates to this Privacy Policy

Occasionally, we may update this Privacy Policy and reserve the right to make these amendments or modifications at any time by posting the revised Privacy Policy on the Website. When such changes are posted, it is important that you review those carefully so that you thoroughly understand the impact such changes have on the collection, storage, use and sharing of your personal information. If you have any further questions regarding this Privacy Policy, you are encouraged to contact us directly using the information and methods provided in the “How to Contact Us” section of this Privacy Policy.

 

How to Contact Us

For questions regarding our Privacy Policy or to make requests regarding any personal information about you we may collected, please visit the “Contact Us” section of the website.