Privacy Policy
Who We Are
Welcome to Kara Stephens, REALTOR®’s official website. Our website address is http://karastephens.ca. We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring that your personal information is handled safely and responsibly.
Information We Collect
Comments
When visitors leave comments on our site, we collect the data shown in the comments form and the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help with spam detection. An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.
Media
If you upload images to the website, please avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS). Visitors can download and extract any location data from images on the website.
Cookies
We use cookies to enhance your experience on our website. If you leave a comment on our site, you may opt-in to save your name, email address, and website in cookies. These are for your convenience, so you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.
If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
When you log in, we will set up several cookies to save your login information and screen display choices. Login cookies last two days, and screen options cookies last a year. If you select “Remember Me,” your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.
If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and indicates the post ID of the article you edited. It expires after one day.
Embedded Content from Other Websites
Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves exactly as if the visitor has visited the other website. These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.
How We Use Your Data
Who We Share Your Data With
If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email.
How Long We Retain Your Data
If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This allows us to automatically recognize and approve any follow-up comments instead of holding them in a moderation queue.
We store the personal information provided by users who register on our website (if any) in their user profiles. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username).
What Rights You Have Over Your Data
If you have an account on this site or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we must keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.
Where Your Data Is Sent
Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.
Real Estate-Specific Privacy Information
Definitions
Personal Information: Any identifiable information about you, including your name, address, phone number, and financial information, may include information about your property (such as listing and selling price, lease rate, listing term, etc.).
REALTOR®: A member of a real estate board, typically licensed under the Real Estate Services Act.
Brokerage: The real estate company where your REALTOR® is licensed.
How Is My Personal Information Collected?
Most personal information will be collected directly from you through contracts and other documents you fill out (e.g., Multiple Listing Contract, Contract of Purchase and Sale, Offer to Lease, seller’s Property Disclosure Statement) and through discussions you have with your REALTOR®. Some information may be collected from other sources such as government departments and agencies (e.g., Land titles offices, BC Assessment), financial institutions, and mortgage brokers.
To Whom May My Personal Information Be Disclosed?
Your information may be disclosed to (or may be accessible by) the boards and their staff and members, other REALTORS® and their clients, government departments and agencies, financial institutions, legal advisors, service providers, the British Columbia Real Estate Association, the Real Estate Council of British Columbia, The Canadian Real Estate Association, and members of the public, for the purposes described below.
Not all of your information will be accessible to each of the above-mentioned entities. For example, once the listing term has ended, the general public will not have access to your information unless it is otherwise available through public registries (e.g., Land titles offices, BC Assessment).
Why Is My Personal Information Collected, Used, and Disclosed?
Your personal information may be collected, used, and disclosed for some or all of the following purposes:
1. To allow members of real estate boards (including REALTORS® and appraisers) to appraise your property.
2. To list/market your property on the MLS® System.
3. To market your property through any other media (both print and electronic).
4. To help you locate a suitable property to buy or lease.
5. To facilitate the purchase and sale or lease transaction (by cooperation with financial institutions, legal advisors, and government departments and agencies).
6. To allow the boards (including REALTORS®) to compile current and historical statistics on sales and property prices and lease rates, and to conduct comparative market analyses. Information about your property will be retained in the MLS® System for these purposes after your property has sold or leased or your listing has expired (if you are a seller/landlord) and after you have purchased or leased your property (if you are a buyer/tenant).
7. To enforce codes of professional conduct and ethics for REALTORS® (by cooperating with real estate boards, the British Columbia Real Estate Association, the Canadian Real Estate Association, and other regulatory bodies).
8. To comply with legal requirements and to act pursuant to legal authorizations.
The above-mentioned collections uses and disclosures are a necessary part of your relationship with your REALTOR®.
Will My Personal Information Be Collected, Used, and Disclosed for Other Purposes?
Your personal information may also be collected, used, and disclosed for the following additional purposes:
1. Your REALTOR® may communicate with you in the future to determine whether you require additional real estate services.
2. Your REALTOR® may communicate with you to provide information about other products or services that may interest you.
3. Other REALTORS® may communicate with you to determine whether you require additional real estate services.
4. The boards, REALTORS®, and survey firms on their behalf may communicate with you to determine if you wish to participate in surveys.
These additional purposes are optional. If you do not want your personal information used or disclosed for any of these purposes, please contact your REALTOR® or your REALTOR’S® board’s privacy officer.
Contact information for all BC real estate boards can be found at the British Columbia Real Estate Association website: www.bcrea.bc.ca or telephone 604.683.7702.
By using our website, you consent to collecting, using, and disclosing personal information as described in this Privacy Policy. If you have any questions or concerns about our privacy practices, please contact us at [insert contact email or phone number].