Terms of Service

1. Agreement to these terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") form a binding agreement between you and Home Buying Steps, Inc. ("Home Buying Steps," "we," "us," or "our") governing your access to and use of the Home Buying Steps website, web application, and mobile application (together, the "Service"). By creating an account or otherwise using the Service, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy and Disclaimer, both of which are incorporated into these Terms by reference. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

2. What the Service is

Home Buying Steps helps people organize and track the home-buying process by providing a personalized roadmap of phases and steps, educational content, checklists, a deadline tracker, and a directory of local professionals compiled in part from third-party data sources. The Service is an organizational and educational tool. As explained fully in our Disclaimer, it is not a substitute for advice from a licensed real estate agent or broker, mortgage professional, attorney, tax advisor, or other licensed professional, and you should rely on those professionals — not the Service — for guidance specific to your transaction.

3. Eligibility and accounts

You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract to use the Service. When you create an account (via our authentication provider, Clerk), you agree to provide accurate information and to keep your login credentials confidential. You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account, and you should notify us promptly at support@homebuyingsteps.com if you suspect unauthorized use.

4. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• Use the Service for any unlawful purpose, or in a way that violates any applicable local, state, federal, or international law or regulation;
• Misrepresent your identity, impersonate any person or entity, or create an account on behalf of someone else without authorization;
• Scrape, harvest, or otherwise systematically extract data from the Service (including directory listings or journey content) without our prior written consent;
• Reverse-engineer, decompile, or attempt to derive the source code of the Service, or interfere with or disrupt its operation, security, or availability (including by introducing malware or attempting unauthorized access); or
• Use the Service to harass, defame, or harm any person, including any professional listed in our directory.

We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate this section or that we reasonably believe pose a risk to the Service, other users, or third parties.

5. Your content

You may provide information to the Service — for example, your onboarding answers (home type, buying stage, financing preference, location), step completion status, and deadlines you create ("Your Content"). You retain ownership of Your Content. By submitting it, you grant Home Buying Steps a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, and display Your Content solely as necessary to operate, maintain, and improve the Service for you (for example, to build your personalized roadmap and progress views). We do not sell Your Content. See our Privacy Policy for more on how we handle it.

6. Intellectual property

The Service — including its software, design, text, graphics, journey content, checklists, and the Home Buying Steps name and logo — is owned by Home Buying Steps or its licensors and is protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. Subject to your compliance with these Terms, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use the Service for your personal, non-commercial use in connection with your own home search. You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, or lease any part of the Service, or reproduce its content for any commercial purpose, without our prior written consent.

7. Third-party services and links

The Service integrates with or links to third-party services — including Clerk (authentication), Google Places (directory data), and others described in our Privacy Policy— and may surface listings for, or links to, independent professionals and businesses. Home Buying Steps does not control and is not responsible for the content, accuracy, policies, or practices of any third party. Your interactions with third parties found through the Service (including any professional in our directory) are solely between you and that third party, and are governed by that party's own terms and policies.

8. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE AND ALL CONTENT, FEATURES, AND FUNCTIONALITY MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH IT ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, ERROR-FREE, OR THAT ANY CONTENT, ROADMAP, CHECKLIST, DEADLINE, OR DIRECTORY LISTING IS ACCURATE, COMPLETE, OR CURRENT. PLEASE READ OUR DISCLAIMER IN FULL — IT EXPLAINS, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THAT HOME BUYING STEPS IS NOT A LICENSED REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE, MORTGAGE BROKER OR LENDER, OR LAW FIRM, AND THAT YOU SHOULD RELY ON LICENSED PROFESSIONALS — NOT THE SERVICE — FOR ADVICE SPECIFIC TO YOUR TRANSACTION.

9. Limitation of liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, HOME BUYING STEPS AND ITS OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, OR GOODWILL, ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO YOUR USE OF (OR INABILITY TO USE) THE SERVICE — INCLUDING ANY DECISION YOU MAKE OR ACTION YOU TAKE BASED ON ROADMAP CONTENT, CHECKLISTS, DEADLINES, OR DIRECTORY LISTINGS, OR ANY DEALINGS YOU HAVE WITH A PROFESSIONAL FOUND THROUGH THE SERVICE — EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID HOME BUYING STEPS IN THE TWELVE MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM AROSE, OR (B) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100). SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

10. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Home Buying Steps and its officers, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to your use of the Service, Your Content, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any right of a third party (including any professional you engage through the directory).

11. Termination

You may stop using the Service and delete your account at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service, with or without notice, if we reasonably believe you have violated these Terms or if continuing to provide the Service to you could create risk or legal exposure for us or others. Sections of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination (including Sections 6, 8, 9, 10, and 13) will survive.

12. Changes to the Service or these Terms

We may update the Service and these Terms from time to time as our product and the home-buying landscape evolve. If we make material changes to these Terms, we will provide notice — for example, by posting the updated Terms with a new "Last updated" date or notifying you in the app or by email. Your continued use of the Service after changes take effect means you accept the updated Terms.

13. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles, except where applicable consumer-protection law in your state of residence requires otherwise. Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in Delaware, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts, except where applicable law provides you a right to a different forum.

14. Contact

Questions about these Terms can be sent to legal@homebuyingsteps.com.