1. Introduction
Real Estate Forum (“REF,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information pursuant to and in compliance to Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (TDPSA), Texas Identity Theft Enforcement & Protection Act, Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA), Federal Trade Commission Act, CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 and . This Privacy Policy and terms of use explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard information when you visit our website, use our mobile application, attend our events, or become a member. By accessing or using www.reforum.net, you agree to this Privacy Policy.
Use of Website
You agree NOT to:
Violate any Texas or federal law
Infringe intellectual property rights
Transmit malicious software
Engage in fraudulent or deceptive practices
Intellectual Property
All content (text, logos, graphics, software) is owned by or licensed to Real Estate Forum and protected under U.S. copyright and trademark laws. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited
2. Controller Information
Controller: REFORUM
Address: [Texas,USA]
Contact: [info@reforum.net]
If you have questions about this Policy or how we handle your personal data, contact us at the above address.
3. Information We Collect
A. Personal Information You Provide
We may collect:
• Full name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Company name
• Registration Number/License Number
• Job title
• Business address
• LinkedIn profile
• Payment information (if applicable)
• Chapter affiliation
• Event registration information
• Membership application details
• Internet or network activity information (e.g., IP address, cookies)
B. Professional Information
Given the nature of REF, we may collect:
• Industry category (Developer, Builder, Attorney, Lender, etc.)
• Areas of expertise
• Services offered
• Project history (if voluntarily submitted)
• Municipal affiliation (for city/county officials)
C. Automatically Collected Data
When you use our website or app:
• IP address
• Browser type
• Device information
• Pages visited
• Time spent
• Referral sources
• Cookies and tracking technologies
3. How We Use Your Information
We use your information to:
• Process membership applications
• Manage chapter participation
• Facilitate networking connections
• Provide access to the REF mobile app
• Send newsletters and announcements
• Communicate about events
• Manage sponsorships
• Improve our platform
• Provide customer support
• Comply with legal obligations
• We may also use aggregated data for analytics and platform improvements.
• To improve our services
We use log analysis tools to create summary statistics, which are used for purposes such as assessing what information is of most interest to visitors, determining technical design specifications, and identifying system performance or problem areas. The following information is collected for this analysis:
User Client hostname - The hostname (or IP address if DNS is disabled) of the user/client requesting access;
HTTP header, "user-agent" - The user-agent information includes the type of browser, its version, and the operating system it's running on;
HTTP header, "referrer" - The referrer specifies the page from which the client accessed the current page;
• System date - The date and time of the user/client request;
• Full request - The exact request the user/client made;
• Status - The status code the server returned to the user/client;
• Content length - The content length in bytes of the document sent to the user/client;
• Method - The request method used;
• Universal Resource Identifier (URI) - The location of a resource on the server;
• Query string of the URI - Anything after the question mark in a URI; and
• Protocol - The transport protocol and version used.
• E-Mail Protocol
• IP address or device identifier
• Browser type and version
• Operating system
• Pages visited
• Date and time of access
• Referring website
• Server response status
• Device and network information
4. Member Directory & Visibility
REF may display certain professional information within:
• Member directories
• Mobile app listings
• Event materials
• Sponsor recognition sections
Only professional information provided for networking purposes will be displayed. Members may request modifications or removal of directory visibility by contacting us.
5. Event Photography & Media
By attending REF events, you acknowledge that:
• Photographs and videos may be taken
• Media may be used for marketing, social media, or website publication
• Participation implies consent unless you notify us in writing
6. Payment Information
If applicable, payment transactions are processed through secure third-party payment providers. REF does not store full bank account details and credit card details on its servers.
7. Cookies & Tracking Technologies
We use cookies and similar technologies to:
• Improve website functionality
• Analyze traffic patterns
• Enhance user experience
• Deliver relevant content
Users may adjust browser settings to decline cookies.
8. Data Sharing
We do not sell personal data.
We may share information with:
• Service providers supporting website/app operations
• Event vendors
• Payment processors
• Legal authorities when required
Information may be shared within the REF ecosystem only for legitimate networking purposes.
9. Data Security
Pursuant to Texas Identity Theft Enforcement and Protection Act, we implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect personal information. However, no online transmission can be guaranteed 100% secure. REF utilizes industry accepted security measures to protect against loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction of data submitted to our systems, both during transmission and when we receive it.
Access to your Information is strictly limited and we take reasonable measures to ensure that your Information is not accessible to the general public. We restrict access to Personal Data to only those persons who need access to perform or provide their job or service, both internally and with our third-party service providers. We utilize industry standard access controls and detection capabilities for our internal networks in order to prevent unauthorized network access. We regularly undergo third-party audits. Information is encrypted with advanced TLS (Transport Layer Security) when collected and transmitted and is also encrypted at rest.
While Information Security is of paramount importance to REF, no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee its absolute security. As required under applicable data protection laws, we shall immediately notify you via email, and any applicable regulatory agencies, if we learn of an information security breach of your Information. Please be advised that notice may be delayed in order to address the needs of law enforcement, determine the scope of network damage, and to engage in remedial measures.
10. Mobile Application Use
If you use the REF mobile app you agree to:
• Profile information may be visible to other approved members
• Messaging features are intended for professional use
• Misuse of the platform may result in suspension
Except as expressly authorized in writing by the REF, you agree not to access or use the Website, Platform, or any associated services through automated means. This includes, without limitation, the use of robots, bots, spiders, crawlers, scrapers, data mining tools, scripts, artificial intelligence agents, or other automated devices designed to extract, copy, monitor, index, or collect data or content from the Website.
Comply Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, state computer crime statutes, Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
You further agree not to:
scrape, harvest, download, or collect data, content, or information from the Website for commercial, competitive, or resale purposes;bypass, circumvent, or attempt to bypass any security features or technical protections implemented to prevent automated access;
access the Website in a manner that sends excessive automated requests that could impair the functioning or performance of the services; or
reproduce, republish, aggregate, or create derivative databases from the Website’s data without prior written consent of the REF.
You may not:
Aggregate Platform data into another database
b. Republish Platform data on another website, platform, or service
c. Sell, license, distribute, or commercially exploit Platform data
d. Create derivative databases or competing services using Platform data.
You agree not to use the Platform or any data obtained from it for the purpose of:
building a competing product or service
b. benchmarking or reverse engineering the Platform
c. developing machine learning models trained on Platform content
d. training AI systems using Platform data.
You shall not attempt to:
bypass or circumvent authentication measures
b. defeat anti-scraping technology
c. interfere with server infrastructure
d. overload or disrupt the Platform.
Unauthorized scraping or access may violate applicable laws and violators may be subject to civil and criminal liability
11. Data Retention
We retain personal information as long as necessary for:
• Membership administration
• Legal compliance
• Platform operations
Users may request deletion, subject to legal obligations.
12. Your Rights
Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have rights to:
• Access your data
• Correct inaccurate information
• Request deletion
• Withdraw consent
• Opt out of communications
To exercise these rights, contact us at:
13. International Users
If accessing REF from outside the United States, you understand that your data may be processed and stored in the United States pursuant to State Laws.
14. Children’s Privacy
REF services are intended for professionals and individuals over 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect data from minors.
15. Third-Party Links
Our website may contain links to external sites. REF is not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party platforms.
16. Policy Updates
We reserve the right to update this Privacy Policy at any time. Updates will be posted on this page with the revised effective date.
17. Data Privacy Rights
The right to withdraw consent. To the extent you provide consent to the processing of your Personal Data, including marketing communications, you can withdraw your consent at any time. Your withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of our processing based on consent before your withdrawal.
Right of access to and rectification of your Personal Data. If you would like to request access or correct your Personal Data, you can submit a written request to info@reforum.net.
Right to erasure (or, “Right to be forgotten”). You can ask us to stop processing and delete your Personal Data in certain circumstances (for example where it was processed on the basis of your consent and you withdraw such consent or where it is no longer necessary for us to process it).
Right to data portability. You can request to receive your Personal Data from us in a machine-readable, commonly used format of our choosing and/or have us transfer your Personal Data directly to another controller.
Right to object to, or restrict, processing. Where the processing of your Personal Data is based on consent, contract, or legitimate interests, you may restrict or object, at any time, to the processing of your Personal Data, as permitted by applicable law. Note that you will never need to opt-out of the sale of your Personal Data because REF does not sell your Personal Data.
Right to not be the subject of automated individual decision-making, including profiling. You have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal or similarly significant effects on you, except as allowed under applicable data protection laws. We value your privacy rights. Regardless of where you are located, we will honor your request to access, correct, or delete your Personal Data.
To make a request regarding your data rights, please contact info@reforum.net. In your email, please write “Data Privacy Rights” in the subject line and in the body of the email state the right you would like to exercise. We will promptly review your request, determine how we can process your request in compliance with applicable laws, and provide you with an explanation on how we are taking action on your request. Note that we may need to seek additional details from you in order to process your request and that, if you request to have your Personal Data deleted, we may retain your name and contact information on a list for the purpose of ensuring we comply with your request.
18. Sensitive Data (Processed Only with Consent)
Under TDPSA, “sensitive data” includes:
Precise geolocation
Racial or ethnic origin
Religious beliefs
Mental or physical health condition or diagnosis
Sexual orientation
Citizenship or immigration status
Genetic or biometric data used to uniquely identify an individual
Personal data collected from a known child
Non-Discrimination
We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights under the TDPSA.
20. Law Enforcement
We may share personal information with:
Law enforcement or judicial authorities including courts, tribunals, and regulatory bodies to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations to provide personally identifiable information to appropriate governmental authorities. REF will cooperate with law enforcement agencies in identifying those who appear to be using its services for illegal activities. REF reserves the right to report to law enforcement agencies any activities that officials of REF in good faith believe to be unlawful.
External auditors or professional advisors, e.g., lawyers and other advisors, in which case confidentiality obligations will bind the recipient of the information.
Such third parties to whom we may sell, transfer, or merge parts of our business or assets. Alternatively, we may seek to acquire other businesses or merge with them. If a change happens to our business, then the new owners may use your personal information in the same way as set out in this privacy policy.
We may disclose your personal data to a third party where you direct and/or authorise us to do so.
We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal information and treat it in accordance with the law. Unless otherwise expressly notified, we do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal information for their own purposes and only permit them to process it for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.
21. Limitation of Liability
Monetary capping is limited to amount paid to REFORUM during the subscription period.
Real Estate Forum shall not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages.
22. Indemnification
Users agree to indemnify and hold harmless the company from claims arising from misuse of the Site.
23. Monitoring and Detection
REF reserves the right to:
monitor user activity
b. implement bot detection technology
c. block IP addresses
d. suspend or terminate accounts engaging in scraping or automated access.
24. Immediate Suspension and Legal Remedies
Violation of this section may result in:
a. immediate termination of access
b. suspension of accounts
c. blocking of IP addresses or networks.
REF may also pursue all available legal remedies, including:
a. injunctive relief
b. statutory damages
c. claims under applicable computer misuse laws.
25. Changes to Terms
We may modify these Terms at any time. Continued use constitutes acceptance.
26. Contact Information
For questions regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact:
Real Estate Forum (REF)
Address : Texas,USA
Email : info@reforum.net
Website : www.reforum.net