Privacy Notice

Who we are

This Privacy Notice applies to meritasadvisory.com (the “Site”) and to communications you start through it. The Site is operated by Meritas Real Estate Advisory, Inc., a California corporation (“Meritas,” “we,” “us” or “our”), which provides real estate advisory services in Southern California.

This notice does not cover information we receive in the course of a client engagement. That information is governed by the written engagement agreement with the client and by applicable law.

Information we collect

Information you give us. When you use our contact form, email us or call us, we collect the information you choose to provide. This typically includes your name, email address, telephone number, organization, the type of inquiry, the approximate size of your portfolio and the contents of your message.

Sample report requests. When you request our sample Portfolio Assessment, we collect your name, email address and, if you choose, the approximate size of your portfolio and whether you would like to receive Insights articles. We use this information to review your request and send the report, to follow up with you once about it, and, only if you tick the opt-in box, to send occasional Insights articles. You can unsubscribe from those at any time.

Information collected automatically. Like most websites, the servers that host the Site automatically record limited technical information when you visit, such as your IP address, browser type, device type, the pages you request, the referring page and the date and time of your visit. This information is used to deliver the Site, keep it secure and diagnose problems.

Cookies and similar technologies. The Site does not use advertising cookies, analytics cookies, tracking pixels or social media plug-ins. Our hosting provider may use strictly necessary technical measures, such as spam filtering on the contact form, to operate the Site. If we decide to add analytics or similar tools in the future, we will update this notice before doing so.

Information from others. If someone refers you to us, such as your property manager, attorney or another advisor, they may share your name and contact details with us. We use that information only to respond to the referral.

We do not intentionally collect sensitive personal information through the Site, such as Social Security numbers, financial account numbers or health information. Please do not include it in your messages.

How we use information

We use personal information to:

respond to your inquiry and communicate with you about it;
provide materials you request, such as our sample report;
schedule conversations and, where appropriate, prepare a proposed scope of work;
operate, maintain, secure and improve the Site;
keep business records and comply with legal, regulatory and real estate licensing obligations; and
protect the rights, property and safety of Meritas, our clients and others.

We do not use information submitted through the Site for automated decision-making or profiling, and we will not add you to a marketing list without your separate permission, such as the opt-in box on the sample report form.

We share personal information only as described below:

Service providers. We use a small number of companies to run our business, including our website hosting and form processing provider (Netlify, Inc.) and our email and document provider (Google Workspace). They process information on our behalf, under contractual obligations to protect it, and may not use it for their own purposes.
Professional advisors. We may share information with our attorneys, accountants and insurers when reasonably necessary for them to advise or protect us.
Legal requirements. We may disclose information when we believe in good faith that the law requires it, such as in response to a subpoena, court order or a request from a regulator, including the California Department of Real Estate, or to protect rights, property or safety.
Business transfers. If Meritas is involved in a merger, acquisition, financing or sale of all or part of its business, personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to this notice.
With your direction. We share information with others when you ask us to or agree that we may.

We do not sell personal information, we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, and we do not disclose it to third parties for their own direct marketing purposes.

Tracking and Do Not Track signals

We do not track visitors over time and across third-party websites, and we do not allow third parties to collect personal information about your online activities over time and across different websites through the Site. Because we do not engage in that kind of tracking, the Site does not respond differently to browser “Do Not Track” signals or to Global Privacy Control signals. If our practices change, we will update this notice and honor those signals as the law requires.

How long we keep information

We keep personal information only as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this notice, including to meet legal, accounting, licensing and recordkeeping requirements. Inquiries that do not lead to an engagement are generally deleted within three years of our last contact with you. If you become a client, information is retained as described in your engagement agreement. Server logs are retained according to our hosting provider’s standard schedule.

How we protect information

We use reasonable administrative, technical and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information, appropriate to the nature of the information we hold. These include encrypted connections to the Site, access limited to people who need it and multi-factor authentication on the accounts that receive inquiries.

No website, email system or method of storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. Please do not send confidential information through the contact form or by regular email, including financial account numbers, Social Security numbers, information about your residents or tenants, or confidential documents. If we begin working together, we will arrange a secure way to exchange documents.

Your choices and rights

Access, correction and deletion. You may ask us what personal information we hold about you from the Site, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it. We honor these requests for all visitors, wherever they live, subject to exceptions allowed by law, such as information we must keep to meet legal or licensing obligations. We will take reasonable steps to verify your identity before acting on a request and will respond within 45 days. You may use an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf, and we may ask the agent for proof of authorization.

Communications. You may ask us to stop contacting you at any time by replying to our email or by contacting us using the details below.

No discrimination. We will not treat you differently for making a privacy request.

California residents. California law gives residents certain rights regarding their personal information. As described above, we do not sell or share personal information and do not disclose it to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. If you are a California resident and have questions about your rights or how we handle your information, please contact us.

Children

The Site is intended for property owners, real estate businesses and their advisors, and is not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

Links to other websites

The Site may link to websites operated by others. We are not responsible for their content or privacy practices, and we encourage you to review their privacy notices.

Accessibility of this notice

This notice is available in alternative formats on request. Please contact us using the details below, or see our Accessibility Statement.

Changes to this notice

We may update this notice from time to time. When we do, we will post the updated version on this page and change the effective date above. If we make a material change to how we handle personal information, we will provide more prominent notice, such as a notice on the Site’s home page, before the change takes effect.

How to contact us

If you have questions about this notice or want to make a request, please contact:

Meritas Real Estate Advisory, Inc.
Attention: Privacy
Email: greg@meritasadvisory.com
Telephone: (213) 222-6713