At REMAX Universal, we respect your privacy and are committed to protecting the personal information you provide to us. This Privacy Policy explains how REMAX Universal (“REMAX Universal,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, discloses, and protects personal information when you visit or interact with our websites, including universalpropertiestx.com, remax-universal-texas.com, and remax-universal-tx.com (collectively, the “Site”), or otherwise communicate with us in connection with our real estate services.
Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. By using our Site, you acknowledge the practices described in this Privacy Policy.
1. Information We Collect
Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect the following categories of information.
Personal and Contact Information
We may collect information you voluntarily provide to us, including your name, email address, telephone or mobile phone number, mailing address, and other contact information when you submit a form, request information, subscribe to communications, contact us, or otherwise interact with our services.
Property and Real Estate Information
We may collect information related to properties you inquire about, purchase, sell, lease, or otherwise express an interest in, as well as property details and other information necessary to provide real estate services.
Transaction Information
When you engage us in connection with a real estate transaction, we may collect information necessary to facilitate and administer that transaction, including information relating to the transaction, financing, closing, title, inspections, appraisals, and other transaction-related matters.
Financial Information
Where applicable, we may collect payment information and other financial information necessary to process payments or provide requested services.
Website and Usage Information
When you visit our Site, we may automatically collect certain information about your device and interaction with the Site, including your IP address, browser type, operating system, device information, pages viewed, referring website, approximate location derived from IP address, and information regarding how you interact with the Site.
Information from Other Sources
We may receive information from third parties, including service providers, advertising or analytics providers, real estate transaction participants, publicly available sources, and other individuals or organizations involved in providing services to you.
Mobile and Text Messaging Information
If you voluntarily opt in to receive text messages from us, we may collect your mobile telephone number and information regarding your text messaging consent.
Your mobile telephone number, text messaging opt-in information, and consent to receive text messages will not be shared with third parties or affiliates for their own marketing or promotional purposes. We will not transfer your opt-in consent to receive text messages to any third party.
You may opt out of text messages at any time by following the instructions provided in the applicable message.
2. How We Use Your Information
We may use personal information we collect for the following purposes:
To provide, administer, and manage our real estate services.
To respond to inquiries, requests, and communications.
To provide information about properties, real estate services, market information, and related opportunities.
To facilitate and support real estate transactions and related services.
To communicate with you regarding services, properties, transactions, appointments, requests, and other matters related to your relationship with us.
To send newsletters, updates, marketing communications, and promotional materials where permitted by law and, when required, with your consent.
To send text messages when you have provided the appropriate consent.
To operate, maintain, personalize, and improve our Site.
To analyze website usage and trends and improve our services, website, communications, and user experience.
To administer contests, promotions, surveys, or other activities you participate in.
To process requests and transactions and prevent fraud or other unauthorized activity.
To provide customer support and investigate and address concerns.
To test, research, analyze, and develop our website, services, and business operations.
To detect, prevent, and address security incidents, fraud, or illegal activity.
To comply with applicable laws, regulations, legal processes, and professional obligations.
To establish, exercise, or defend legal claims and protect our rights, property, safety, and users.
For other purposes disclosed to you when the information is collected or otherwise permitted by applicable law.
We will not collect additional categories of personal information or use personal information we collect for materially different, unrelated, or incompatible purposes without providing any notice required by applicable law.
3. How We Share Your Information
We may disclose personal information in the following circumstances.
Service Providers
We may disclose personal information to third-party service providers that perform services on our behalf, including website hosting, technology and IT support, communications, marketing, analytics, customer support, payment processing, and other business operations.
When we disclose personal information to service providers for a business purpose, we require appropriate contractual protections designed to require the recipient to keep the information confidential and use it only for the purposes for which we engage them or as otherwise permitted by law.
Real Estate Professionals and Transaction Participants
When necessary to provide requested services or facilitate a real estate transaction, we may disclose relevant information to real estate agents, brokers, lenders, title companies, escrow and closing professionals, inspectors, appraisers, attorneys, transaction coordinators, and other professionals involved in a transaction or service you have requested.
Legal and Regulatory Requirements
We may disclose personal information when required or permitted by law, regulation, legal process, subpoena, court order, or governmental request, or when we reasonably believe disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, property, safety, users, or others.
Business Transactions
If REMAX Universal or substantially all of its assets are involved in a merger, acquisition, reorganization, financing, sale, or other business transaction, personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to applicable law.
With Your Direction or Consent
We may disclose information when you direct us to do so, request that we do so, or otherwise consent to the disclosure.
4. Sale and Sharing of Personal Information
REMAX Universal has not sold personal information for monetary or other valuable consideration during the preceding twelve months.
We do not sell personal information as that term is defined under the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”).
We also do not knowingly share your mobile telephone number or text messaging opt-in information with third parties or affiliates for their own marketing or promotional purposes.
If our information practices change in a manner that constitutes a sale or sharing of personal information under applicable California law, we will provide any notices and choices required by the CCPA, including applicable opt-out rights.
5. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
Our Site may use cookies, pixels, web beacons, analytics tools, and similar technologies to:
Operate and maintain the Site.
Remember preferences.
Understand how visitors use our Site.
Measure website performance.
Analyze traffic and usage trends.
Improve our services and communications.
Support marketing and advertising activities, where applicable.
Third-party service providers may use cookies or similar technologies in connection with services they provide to us.
You may be able to control or limit cookies through your browser or device settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of portions of the Site.
Where required by applicable law, we will provide additional notices and choices regarding cookies, tracking technologies, targeted advertising, or the sale or sharing of personal information.
6. Data Security
We maintain reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect personal information against unauthorized access, use, alteration, disclosure, or destruction.
However, no method of transmitting or storing information electronically is completely secure. While we take reasonable steps to protect personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.
7. Data Retention
We retain personal information for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, including providing services, facilitating transactions, maintaining appropriate business and transaction records, complying with legal and regulatory obligations, resolving disputes, enforcing agreements, and protecting our rights.
The length of time we retain information varies depending on the type of information, the purpose for which it was collected, and applicable legal, regulatory, contractual, and business requirements.
8. California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights
This section applies to California residents to the extent the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 and subsequent amendments and implementing regulations (collectively, the “CCPA”), applies to REMAX Universal.
The CCPA provides California residents with specific rights regarding their personal information. We provide the disclosures and rights described below as required by applicable California law.
Categories of Personal Information We Collect
During the preceding twelve months, we may have collected the following categories of personal information:
CCPA Category Examples
Identifiers Name, email address, telephone number, postal address, online identifiers, IP address, or similar identifiers
California Customer Records Information Name, contact information, telephone number, address, and other information described in California Civil Code § 1798.80(e) that we may collect in connection with providing services
Commercial Information Property interests, transaction information, records of services requested or obtained, and related commercial information
Internet or Other Electronic Network Activity Browsing history, search history, interactions with our Site, device information, and information regarding interaction with websites or advertisements
Geolocation Information Approximate location information, such as location inferred from an IP address, where applicable
Inferences Inferences drawn from information described above to understand preferences or interests
Other Information Other categories of information that may be collected where reasonably necessary to provide our services or as otherwise permitted by law
We may collect information directly from you, automatically when you interact with our Site, or indirectly from third parties and other sources.
You may visit our Site without directly providing personal information. However, certain features or services may not be available without providing requested information.
Purposes for Collecting Personal Information
We may collect and use the categories of personal information described above for the business and commercial purposes described in Section 2 of this Privacy Policy, including providing and administering real estate services, facilitating transactions, responding to requests, maintaining and improving our Site, communicating with you, preventing fraud and security incidents, complying with legal obligations, and other purposes permitted by applicable law.
Categories of Sources
We may obtain personal information from:
You directly.
Your use of our Site.
Cookies and similar technologies.
Service providers and technology providers.
Real estate professionals and transaction participants.
Publicly available sources.
Other individuals or organizations that interact with us on your behalf or in connection with a requested service.
Other sources permitted by law.
Categories of Recipients
During the preceding twelve months, we may have disclosed the categories of personal information identified above to the following categories of recipients:
Service providers.
Technology and website providers.
Marketing and communications providers.
Analytics providers.
Payment processors, where applicable.
Real estate professionals and transaction participants when necessary to provide requested services or facilitate a transaction.
Government authorities, courts, law enforcement, and other parties when legally required or permitted.
9. California Consumer Rights
Subject to applicable exceptions and limitations, California residents may have the following rights under the CCPA:
Right to Know and Access
You have the right to request information about our collection and use of your personal information, including:
The categories of personal information we have collected about you.
The categories of sources from which personal information is collected.
The business or commercial purposes for collecting, selling, or sharing personal information.
The categories of third parties or other recipients to whom personal information is disclosed.
The specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you, subject to applicable legal limitations.
Right to Correct
You may request that we correct inaccurate personal information that we maintain about you, subject to applicable exceptions.
Right to Delete
You may request that we delete personal information that we have collected from you, subject to exceptions permitted by the CCPA.
We may deny a deletion request when retaining the information is necessary or permitted under applicable law, including when the information is necessary to:
Complete a transaction or provide a service you requested.
Perform a contract or take actions reasonably anticipated within an ongoing business relationship.
Detect, prevent, or address security incidents, fraud, or illegal activity.
Identify and repair errors that impair intended functionality.
Exercise rights protected by law.
Comply with legal obligations.
Conduct certain qualifying research.
Make certain internal uses reasonably aligned with consumer expectations.
Perform other lawful activities permitted by the CCPA.
Right to Opt Out of Sale or Sharing
California residents have the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information as those terms are defined by the CCPA.
REMAX Universal does not sell personal information.
If our practices change and we engage in activities that constitute a sale or sharing under the CCPA, we will provide the applicable notice and opt-out mechanisms required by law.
Where applicable, we will honor qualifying California opt-out preference signals, including Global Privacy Control, as required by law.
Right to Limit Use and Disclosure of Sensitive Personal Information
California residents may have the right to limit the use and disclosure of sensitive personal information in circumstances covered by the CCPA.
REMAX Universal does not use or disclose sensitive personal information for purposes requiring a separate limitation right except as permitted by the CCPA and applicable law.
If our practices change in a manner that triggers this right, we will provide the notices and mechanisms required by applicable law.
Right to Equal Treatment
We will not discriminate against you for exercising rights provided to you under the CCPA.
Unless permitted by applicable law, we will not:
Deny you goods or services.
Charge you different prices or rates because you exercised a CCPA right.
Provide you with a different level or quality of goods or services because you exercised a CCPA right.
Suggest that you may receive a different price, rate, level, or quality of service because you exercised a CCPA right.
10. Exercising California Privacy Rights
To exercise your California privacy rights, you may submit a verifiable consumer request by contacting us through either of the following methods:
Telephone: 832-524-6530
Email: sharonmorton@remax.net
You may request access/know, correction, or deletion of your personal information through these methods.
Only you, or a person legally authorized to act on your behalf, may submit a verifiable consumer request concerning your personal information. You may also submit a request on behalf of your minor child where permitted by law.
To designate an authorized agent, we may require appropriate documentation establishing the agent’s authority to act on your behalf.
Verification
To protect your personal information, we may take reasonable steps to verify your identity before completing a request.
Your request should provide sufficient information to allow us to reasonably verify that you are the person about whom we collected personal information or an authorized representative and should describe the request with enough detail for us to understand, evaluate, and respond appropriately.
We will use personal information provided in connection with a privacy request only as reasonably necessary to verify the request and fulfill our legal obligations.
You do not need to create an account with us to submit a verifiable consumer request.
We will not provide sensitive information, such as Social Security numbers, financial account credentials, passwords, or other information that we are prohibited from disclosing under applicable law, in response to a consumer request where disclosure is not permitted.
Authorized Agents
If you submit a request through an authorized agent, we may require the agent to provide proof of authorization and may independently verify your identity as permitted or required by law.
Request Limits
The CCPA may limit the number of certain requests that a business is required to fulfill during a twelve-month period. We will apply any applicable request limitations in accordance with current California law.
Response Timing
We will generally respond to verifiable consumer requests within 45 days of receiving the request.
If additional time is reasonably necessary, we may extend the response period by an additional 45 days where permitted by law. If an extension is necessary, we will notify you of the reason for the extension and the applicable extension period.
We will provide our response in a manner permitted by law and, where applicable, in the format you request.
We do not charge a fee to process or respond to a verifiable consumer request unless permitted by applicable law. If a fee is permitted and we determine that a request warrants a fee, we will explain the reason and provide an estimate before completing the request.
11. California Notice at Collection
The CCPA requires covered businesses to provide California consumers with a Notice at Collection at or before the point personal information is collected.
This Privacy Policy contains the applicable information regarding our categories of personal information, purposes of collection, and related privacy practices. Where required, REMAX Universal may provide a separate Notice at Collection at the point where personal information is collected, such as on a website form, registration page, or other collection mechanism.
Our Notice at Collection may also provide information regarding applicable retention periods or the criteria used to determine those periods.
12. Third-Party Websites and Services
Our Site may contain links to websites, applications, social media platforms, or other services operated by third parties.
Those third parties maintain their own privacy policies and practices. REMAX Universal is not responsible for the privacy practices, security, content, or policies of third-party websites or services.
We encourage you to review the applicable privacy policy before providing personal information to a third party.
13. Children’s Privacy
Our Site and services are not directed to children under 13 years of age.
We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children under 13. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13 without appropriate consent, we will take reasonable steps to delete that information.
14. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our business practices, technology, legal requirements, or other circumstances.
When we make changes, we will post the revised Privacy Policy on this page and update the Last Updated date above.
We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to remain informed about how we collect, use, disclose, and protect personal information.
15. Contact Us
If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us:
REMAX Universal
13145 Spring Cypress Road, Bldg. 2
Cypress, TX 77429
281-894-1000
info@remaxuniversaltx.com
For California consumer privacy requests:
Telephone: 832-524-6530
Email: sharonmorton@remax.net