Privacy Policy | TheKabza.com

Effective date: [Insert date]
Last updated: [Insert date]

Template notice: this page is a drafting template prepared for TheKabza.com. It must be reviewed, completed and adapted by a licensed attorney — and checked against the privacy statutes of every state where the brokerage holds a license — before this site goes live.

TheKabza.com is a full-service residential real estate agency headquartered in Austin, Texas, operating across Austin, Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston, Phoenix/Scottsdale, Miami and Nashville. This policy explains what personal information we collect through this website, our phone and text lines and our transaction files, why we collect it, how long we keep it, who we share it with, and the rights you have to see it, correct it or have it deleted.

We have written this in plain language on purpose. A real estate transaction already involves handing strangers your income, your bank statements and your home address. You are entitled to know exactly where that information goes.

Who we are and who is responsible for your data

The entity responsible for the personal information described here — the “data controller” in European terminology and the “business” under California law — is:

Legal entity: [Insert registered legal entity name, e.g. Kabza Real Estate LLC], trading as TheKabza.com
Mailing address: [Placeholder address] 1100 Congress Avenue, Suite 400, Austin, TX 78701
Privacy contact: [Insert name and title of the privacy contact], privacy@thekabzas.com
Phone: (512) 555-0142
Texas brokerage license: [TREC License #______]

If you contact us about privacy, please say which state you live in, because your rights differ by state.

Information we collect

Information you give us directly. When you submit an enquiry form, request a free home valuation, book a consultation, apply to lease a property we manage, or sign a representation agreement, you provide information such as your name, email address, phone number, the property address you are asking about, your timeline, your intent (buying, selling, renting, managing or investing), your preferred metro, and any notes you type into a message field.

Information required to complete a transaction or a tenancy. Once an engagement begins, the file necessarily grows. Depending on the service, that can include government-issued identification, proof of funds, pre-approval letters, income and employment verification, rental history, credit and background screening results returned by a consumer reporting agency, bank and wiring instructions handled through a title company or escrow agent, and the signed contracts themselves. We collect this because the transaction cannot legally or practically close without it, not because we want a richer profile of you.

Property search and browsing activity. If you create a saved search, favourite a listing, or use an IDX search tool on this site, we record the searches you run, the listings you view or save, and the alerts you ask to receive. This activity is tied to your account or enquiry record so your agent can prepare for a conversation with you rather than ask you to repeat yourself.

Technical and analytics data collected automatically. Like most websites, ours logs IP address, approximate location derived from that IP, browser and device type, operating system, referring URL, pages viewed, time on page, and the links you click. This is collected through [Insert analytics provider, e.g. Google Analytics 4] and our hosting provider, [Insert hosting provider].

Call and message records. Calls to and from our published lines, (512) 555-0142 and (512) 555-0177, may be logged and, where we notify you at the start of the call and it is permitted by the law of your state, recorded for training and accuracy. Text messages exchanged with our agents are retained in our CRM as part of the transaction record.

Information from third parties. We may receive your details from a referring agent or relocation company, from a lender or title company working on your file, from a listing syndication or lead platform you submitted a form to, or from a public record such as a county appraisal district or deed record.

We do not knowingly collect sensitive categories of personal information — such as racial or ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation, or precise health data — and we do not ask for them. Under fair housing law we will not solicit or act on that information in any showing, screening or advertising decision.

How we use your information

We use personal information to do the work you asked us to do and to meet the obligations that come with being a licensed brokerage. Specifically:

To answer your enquiry, return your call and route you to a licensed agent in the correct market.
To prepare a written home valuation and the comparable-sales packet behind it.
To run a property search, send listing alerts and schedule showings.
To negotiate, document and close a purchase, sale or lease, including coordinating with lenders, title companies, inspectors, surveyors, appraisers and homeowners associations.
To screen rental applicants under identical written criteria applied to every applicant, as fair housing law requires.
To manage properties: collect rent, handle maintenance requests, issue statutory notices and produce owner statements and year-end tax documents.
To keep the records a licensed brokerage is required by state law to retain.
To send transactional messages about your active file, and — only where you have consented — marketing such as market updates and new-listing alerts.
To measure how this website performs, diagnose faults, prevent fraud and protect against wire fraud attempts targeting clients.

We do not sell personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioural advertising. See Do Not Sell or Share below.

Legal bases for processing

For visitors in jurisdictions that require a stated legal basis (the EU, the EEA and the UK), we rely on: performance of a contract, or steps taken at your request before entering one, for transaction and enquiry handling; legal obligation for brokerage record retention, anti-money-laundering checks and tax reporting; legitimate interests for site security, analytics and improving our service; and consent for marketing email, SMS and non-essential cookies, which you may withdraw at any time.

MLS and IDX listing data

Property listings shown on this site are supplied through licensed Internet Data Exchange (IDX) feeds from the multiple listing services that cover our markets: Unlock MLS in Austin, NTREIS in Dallas–Fort Worth, HAR in Houston, ARMLS in Phoenix and Scottsdale, MIAMI REALTORS in South Florida and RealTracs in Nashville.

Two points matter for your privacy. First, listing data belongs to the originating MLS and its participants, not to us; we display it under license and subject to each MLS’s rules, and it carries a visible last-refreshed timestamp. Second, MLS rules require participants to keep records of IDX display and of consumer registration for a defined period, and may require us to make certain records available to the MLS for compliance audits. If you register for a saved search, your registration details may be subject to that audit obligation. We do not hand your enquiry details to other brokerages or to lead-resale marketplaces.

If you are a seller whose property is listed, please understand that listing information — including photographs, the property address and disclosed condition details — is published by design to the MLS and its syndication partners, and that this publication is outside our control once it leaves the MLS.

We share personal information only with parties who need it to deliver the service, and under written agreements requiring them to protect it and to use it for no other purpose. Categories include:

Transaction participants: the title or escrow company, the lender, the inspector, the surveyor, the appraiser, the homeowners association or its management company, the co-operating brokerage and the other side’s agent. Where you choose your own vendor, we share only what that vendor needs.
Technology providers: our CRM and transaction management platform [Insert provider], email and SMS delivery [Insert provider], website hosting [Insert provider], electronic signature [Insert provider], analytics [Insert provider], and secure document storage [Insert provider].
Screening and reporting agencies: for rental applicants, the consumer reporting agency that runs credit, criminal and eviction checks, [Insert screening provider]. Adverse action notices are issued as the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires.
Professional advisers: our attorneys, accountants, auditors and errors-and-omissions insurer, where a specific matter requires it.
Regulators and law enforcement: where we are compelled by subpoena, court order, or a state real estate commission audit, or where disclosure is necessary to investigate suspected fraud.
A successor entity: if the business is sold or merged, client files would transfer as part of that transaction, subject to this policy.

We do not sell your information, rent it, trade it, or pass it to unrelated marketers.

Cookies and similar technologies

This site uses cookies and comparable technologies for three purposes: strictly necessary cookies that make the site function and keep sessions secure; preference cookies that remember settings such as saved searches or a chosen market; and analytics cookies that tell us which pages are read and where people leave. Where required by law we present a consent banner before setting non-essential cookies, and you can change your choice at any time through [Insert link to cookie preference center].

You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings, though parts of the site — particularly IDX search and saved listings — may stop working properly. We honor the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal as a valid opt-out request where state law recognizes it. Our response to browser “Do Not Track” headers is: we do not currently respond to DNT, because there is no agreed industry standard for doing so.

When you give us your phone number on a form and tick the consent box, you agree that TheKabza.com and its licensed agents may contact you at that number by phone call and by SMS text message about your enquiry, including through automated or prerecorded means where applicable. Consent is not a condition of purchasing, selling, leasing or any other service, and you can decline it and still work with us; we will simply use email or a manually dialled call instead. Message and data rates may apply, and message frequency varies with the stage of your transaction.

To stop text messages, reply STOP to any message from us, or tell your agent in writing. Reply HELP for assistance. To stop marketing email, use the unsubscribe link at the foot of any marketing message. Withdrawing consent does not stop the operational messages required to complete a transaction you are actively engaged in — deadline reminders, closing logistics and similar — though you may ask us to send those by email only.

Data retention

We keep personal information only as long as we need it, and then for the period regulators require. As a working schedule, which you should confirm against current law before launch:

Website enquiries that do not become clients: [Insert period, e.g. 24 months] from last contact, then deleted or anonymised.
Executed transaction files, representation agreements and closing documents: the period required by the Texas Real Estate Commission and by the corresponding regulator in Arizona, Florida and Tennessee — in Texas, currently four years from the date of closing or termination of the agreement [confirm the current retention rule with counsel].
Property management records, owner statements and tenant ledgers: [Insert period, e.g. 7 years] to support tax reporting and deposit accounting.
Rental application and screening records: retained under Fair Housing and Fair Credit Reporting Act requirements, currently [Insert period], applied identically to accepted and declined applicants.
Call recordings and SMS logs: [Insert period, e.g. 12 months] unless attached to an active file or a dispute.
Analytics data: retained in aggregate; identifiable analytics records are kept for [Insert period, e.g. 14 months].

Where a file is subject to a legal hold, litigation, an audit or an insurance claim, we retain it until that matter closes.

Security

We protect personal information with measures appropriate to its sensitivity: TLS encryption for data in transit on this site, encryption at rest in our document storage, role-based access so that agents and staff see only the files they work on, multi-factor authentication on email and CRM accounts, and written vendor agreements covering security obligations. Client funds — earnest money, tenant security deposits and owner rent receipts — are held in accounts separate from operating funds and reconciled monthly.

One warning we repeat to every client, because it is the single largest real risk in this industry: we will never email you new or changed wiring instructions. Wire fraud in real estate works by spoofing an agent’s or a title company’s email at the moment funds move. Always call the title company on a number you obtained independently — never a number in the email — before sending money. If something looks wrong, stop and call us on (512) 555-0142.

No system is perfectly secure, and we cannot guarantee that transmission over the internet is free from interception. If we become aware of a breach affecting your personal information, we will notify you and the relevant authorities within the timeframe your state’s breach-notification statute requires.

Children’s privacy

This site is directed to adults engaging in real estate transactions. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13, and we do not sell or share the personal information of anyone under 16. If you believe a child has given us personal information, contact privacy@thekabzas.com and we will delete it promptly.

Your California privacy rights (CCPA and CPRA)

If you are a California resident, you have the right to: know the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you, the sources, the business purpose and the categories of third parties it was disclosed to; delete personal information we hold, subject to statutory exceptions including our record-retention obligations as a licensed brokerage; correct inaccurate personal information; opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information; limit the use of sensitive personal information; and not be discriminated against for exercising any of these rights. You may designate an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf, with written proof of authorization.

In the preceding twelve months we have collected the categories of information described above under Information we collect, for the purposes described under How we use your information, and disclosed them for business purposes to the categories of recipients listed under Third-party processors. We have not sold personal information and have not shared it for cross-context behavioural advertising.

To make a request, email privacy@thekabzas.com with the subject line “California Privacy Request”, or call (512) 555-0142. We will verify your identity before acting, respond within 45 days, and extend once by a further 45 days only if we tell you why.

TheKabza.com does not sell personal information and does not share it for cross-context behavioural advertising, as those terms are defined under California law and the comparable statutes of other states. Because we do not engage in these activities, there is nothing to opt out of — but if you would like written confirmation of that, or you would like us to record a standing opt-out preference against your record anyway, email privacy@thekabzas.com and we will do so. We also treat a Global Privacy Control signal from your browser as an opt-out request.

Other state privacy rights

Residents of Texas, Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Utah, Oregon, Montana and other states with comprehensive privacy statutes have broadly similar rights to access, correct, delete and port personal information, and to opt out of targeted advertising, sale and certain profiling. Texas residents may exercise these rights under the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act by contacting privacy@thekabzas.com. If we decline a request, we will explain why and tell you how to appeal; if an appeal is denied, you may complain to your state attorney general. [Confirm the current state-by-state list and response deadlines with counsel before launch.]

Visitors in the EU, EEA and the UK

We are a United States business and our services are offered in the United States, but if you contact us from the EU, EEA or the UK, the General Data Protection Regulation may apply to that contact. In that case you have the rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability and objection, and the right to withdraw consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your national supervisory authority.

Personal information you send us is processed and stored in the United States. Where a transfer of EU or UK personal data to the United States takes place, we rely on [Insert transfer mechanism, e.g. the EU Standard Contractual Clauses and the UK Addendum] together with supplementary measures. We have not appointed an Article 27 representative in the EU or UK; if our activities change so that one is required, this section will be updated with that representative’s details. [Confirm applicability and the correct transfer mechanism with counsel.]

How to request access, correction or deletion

Send your request to privacy@thekabzas.com, write to [Placeholder address] 1100 Congress Avenue, Suite 400, Austin, TX 78701, or call (512) 555-0142. Tell us what you want — a copy, a correction, a deletion, or an opt-out — and which state you reside in.

We will verify that the request genuinely comes from you, usually by confirming details already in our records, and we will not ask for more identifying information than the verification requires. Our target is to acknowledge within 10 business days and to complete within 45 days. Where we cannot delete something — most often because a brokerage, tax or anti-fraud law requires us to keep it — we will tell you which specific record we are retaining and under which obligation, and we will delete everything else.

Changes to this policy

We will update this page when our practices, our vendors or the law change. The effective date at the top always reflects the current version. If a change materially affects how we use information you have already given us, we will notify you by email to the address on your file before the change takes effect. Continued use of this site after an update means you accept the revised policy.

Contact

Privacy contact: [Insert name and title], privacy@thekabzas.com
General enquiries: hello@thekabzas.com · (512) 555-0142
Property management: management@thekabzas.com · (512) 555-0177
Post: TheKabza.com, [Placeholder address] 1100 Congress Avenue, Suite 400, Austin, TX 78701
Brokerage license: [TREC License #______] · Designated broker: [Insert designated broker name]