Terms of Service

Introduction and Agreement

These Terms of Service apply to the services offered by Network Communications, Inc. ("NCI”) in connection with the ApartmentFinder.com and FinderSites.com websites, and any related mobile applications (each a "Site” and collectively the "Sites”). Any individual who visits, views, accesses or uses any version of a Site, including through a bot or other automated means, ("You” or "User”) is bound by these Terms of Service. By using a Site, You represent and warrant that You are at least eighteen (18) years of age and You hereby agree to be bound by all of the following provisions of these Terms of Service, which form a legally binding contract between You and NCI. You further represent and warrant that You are not a competitor of NCI, CoStar Group, Inc. or any of NCI or CoStar Group’s affiliates. If You do not agree to these Terms of Service, You are prohibited from accessing the Sites and must immediately discontinue use

By accessing any of the Sites, You consent to the collection and use of certain information, as specified in the Privacy Notice.

Advertising and Information Service

The Sites provide online advertising and information services for apartment hunters, dwellers, landlords, and property managers. NCI does not broker, lease, or sublease apartments directly and is not a party to any transaction between landlords (including, as applicable, property management companies and/or property managers) and renters. As a result, NCI does not (a) guarantee or ensure any apartment or any transaction between a renter and landlord, (b) collect or process payment or execute any lease or sublease documentation on behalf of renters or landlords, or (c) broker, lease, or sublease or offer to broker, lease or sublease, or own any apartments. You are strongly encouraged to personally inspect any apartment advertised for rent prior to: signing any lease documentation; providing personal information such as a social security number on a lease application; or wiring or otherwise sending money for any deposit, rent payment or application fee. By using a Site, you acknowledge that published rents and availabilities are subject to change at the sole discretion of the property owner or manager at any time and without further notice.

Site Materials

All information and content available on any of the Sites (collectively, "Materials”) are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. The Materials are owned by NCI and its affiliates, and/or their respective licensors and suppliers (collectively, "Licensors”). The Materials are intended for personal and noncommercial use only. You may not copy, reproduce, sell, license, publish, distribute, modify, display, perform, re-post or otherwise use any portion of the Materials in any other way or for any other purpose without the prior written consent of NCI. Requests regarding use of the Materials for any purpose other than personal, noncommercial use should be directed to CoStar Group, 1331 L Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005, attn.: General Counsel.

Third-Party Sites

During the course of Your visit to a Site, You may be taken to third-party websites to fulfill certain site features and functionality (e.g., if You choose to view community information or check availability of a certain apartment unit). You agree that when visiting third-party websites, You are subject to the privacy policy and terms of service, if any, of that third-party website, which may differ from those posted here. By selecting links to such third-party websites, You agree that You will be leaving the Site and that NCI and its affiliates have no responsibility or liability whatsoever in connection with Your use or Your exchange of any information with such third-party websites. NCI and its affiliates do not endorse, sponsor or guarantee these linked websites and are not responsible in any way for any advice, content, information, practices, products or services related to or made available through such linked websites.

Copyrights and Copyright Agents

It is the policy of NCI to respond to claims of intellectual property infringement. NCI will promptly process and investigate notices of alleged infringement and take appropriate actions under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Title 17, United States Code, Section 512(c)(2) ("DMCA”) and other applicable intellectual property laws. Pursuant to the DMCA, notifications of claimed copyright infringement should be sent to a Service Provider’s Designated Agent. Notification must be submitted to the following Designated Agent for the Sites:

CoStar Group Attn: General Counsel
1331 L Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202) 346-6500
Fax: (202) 346-6370
copyright@costar.com

To be effective, the notification must be a written communication that includes the following:

A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site;
Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate the material;
Information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number and, if available, an electronic mail address at which the complaining party may be contacted;
A statement that the complaining party has a good-faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law; and
A statement that the information in the notification is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

Trademarks

You acknowledge that the Materials includes certain trademarks, service marks, and other indicia of source (together "Marks”) that are owned by NCI, its affiliates, Licensors and others. You agree not to copy, use, infringe or dilute the Marks. You further agree that You will not alter or remove any Mark, copyright notice or other notice from the Materials or any copy thereof. APARTMENT FINDER and FINDERSITES names and logos are trademarks of NCI. Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Software

All software contained in a Site ("Software”), is owned by NCI, its affiliates and/or Licensors and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws, as well as international treaty provisions. Any unauthorized access to, reproduction, redistribution, publication, display or other use of the Software is expressly prohibited by law and may result in severe civil and/or criminal penalties. Violators will be prosecuted to the maximum extent possible.

Linking

If You operate a website and wish to link to a Site, You must link to the Site’s home page and/or You may also link to other pages found on the Site given that no manipulation to the canonical URL has occurred specifically, but not limited to, the addition or removal of any unique values, parameters or subfolders needed to render a page on a Site. NCI reserves the right to disavow, reject or terminate any links to the Materials or a Site.

User Content

By submitting listings, ads, photos, descriptions, data, or other content or materials ("Content”) to a Site, You hereby grant to NCI, its affiliates, and its parent and related companies a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, nonexclusive, fully transferable, fully sublicenseable right and license to copy, modify, display, distribute, perform, create derivative works from, store, and otherwise use and exploit all such Content in any form, media, software or technology of any kind now existing or developed in the future. You further grant to NCI, its affiliates, and its parent and related companies, a royalty-free right and license to use Your name, image and likeness in connection with the reproduction or distribution of the Content.

A Site may offer opportunities for Users 18 years of age and older to submit Content that express their opinions and share their ideas, for example in a consumer blogging format ("Opinion Content”). NCI and its affiliates do not endorse the accuracy or reliability of any Opinion Content. If You decide to submit Opinion Content, please use Your best judgment and be respectful of other individuals. By posting or submitting Opinion Content, You agree to abide by these Terms of Service. You may not use a Site to engage in any Prohibited Activities (as defined below). Uploading copyrighted or other proprietary material of any kind on a Site without the express permission of the owner of that material is prohibited and may result in civil and/or criminal liability.

NCI's Rights

Given the nature of the Sites and the volume of messages and postings, except as otherwise provided in these Terms of Service or other applicable terms, NCI cannot and does not monitor all of the Content posted or transmitted by You and other third-party information providers. NCI reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to monitor, refuse to publish, remove, delete, move or edit any Content without notice, at any time for any reason. By using a Site, You expressly agree that NCI (a) will not be liable for any claims, actions or judgments arising out of or related to any Content and (b) may monitor, refuse to publish, remove, delete, move or edit any Content without notice at any time for any reason, without liability and without providing a refund. You further expressly agree that You are solely responsible for any and all Content You submit to a Site.

Unsolicited Content

NCI does not accept unsolicited content or ideas for use or publication in its programming or in other digital, electronic or print media except in connection with the Forums, chat rooms and bulletin boards on a Site. NCI and its affiliates shall not be responsible for the similarity of any of its content or programming in any media to Content or ideas transmitted to a Site.

Representations/Indemnity

You hereby represent and warrant that (a) You have all necessary authority, rights and permissions to submit the Content to a Site, (b) the Content does not and will not infringe or misappropriate any copyright, trademark, trade secret, patent or other intellectual property right of any third party, including any rights of privacy or publicity, (c) the Content and Your use of a Site does not and will not violate any applicable federal, state, or local law or regulation including, but not limited to, any fair housing laws or regulations or applicable real estate licensure or brokerage regulations, or cause injury to any person, and (d) the Content is truthful and accurate. You agree to release, defend, indemnify and hold NCI, its affiliates, Licensors, and their respective officers, directors, employees, agents and contractors harmless from and against any and all claims, costs, demands or expenses, including attorneys’ fees, arising from (i) any distribution, publication, refusal to publish, removal, deletion, movement, editing or other use of the Content You provide, (ii) Your use of a Site or any reliance on the Materials, (iii) Your breach of these Terms of Service or (iv) any actual, prospective or terminated sale, lease or other transaction between You and a third party.

Prohibited Activities

You shall not:

submit Content that is patently offensive to the online community, such as content that promotes racism, bigotry, hatred or physical harm of any kind against any group or individual;
engage in activity or submit Content that could be harmful to minors;
engage in activity or submit Content that harasses or advocates harassment of another person;
engage in activity that involves the transmission of "junk mail” or unsolicited mass mailing or "spam” to others;
engage in activity, submit Content, or promote information, that is fraudulent, false or misleading or promotes illegal activities or conduct that is abusive, threatening, obscene, defamatory or libelous;
submit Content that contains restricted or password-only access pages, or hidden pages or images;
submit Content that displays pornographic or sexually explicit material of any kind;
submit Content that provides instructional information about illegal activities such as making or buying illegal weapons, violating someone’s privacy, or providing or creating computer viruses;
engage in activities or submit Content that solicit passwords or personally identifiable information for unlawful purposes from others;
engage in commercial activities and/or sales without our prior written consent, such as contests, sweepstakes, barter, advertising and pyramid schemes;
use a Site’s lead forms and/or toll-free numbers to advertise or promote products and services to NCI advertisers or to solicit NCI advertisers in any manner;
use any robot, spider or other automatic device, or a manual process, to access, monitor or copy web pages or the Materials contained in a Site or for any other unauthorized purpose;
use any device, software or routine to interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of a Site;
decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble or otherwise attempt to obtain the source code for the Software; or
take any action that imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on NCI’s hardware and software infrastructure.

Compliance with Fair Housing Laws

All Content is subject to federal fair housing laws, which make it illegal to indicate in any advertisement any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, physical or mental disability, and/or familial status. Your state jurisdiction may also prohibit any preferences based on sexual orientation, marital status, ancestry, source of income, or other criteria. If You have any question about the fair housing laws and housing discrimination in general, please call Your local fair housing agency or the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. For a list of all fair housing groups, go to the Housing Rights Center’s website at www.hud.gov.

Warranty Disclaimer

YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT USE OF A SITE AND RELIANCE ON ITS CONTENT IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. NCI, ITS AFFILIATES AND THEIR RESPECTIVE THIRD-PARTY LICENSORS DO NOT MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND REGARDING THE SITES, THE SOFTWARE, THE CONTENT, THE MATERIALS, THE LISTING SERVICE OR THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM USE OF ANY OF THE FOREGOING. THE SITES, THE SOFTWARE, THE CONTENT, THE MATERIALS AND THE LISTING SERVICE ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS, AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, AND NCI, ITS AFFILIATES, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE THIRD-PARTY LICENSORS SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND WARRANTIES OF NONINFRINGEMENT. NCI AND ITS AFFILIATES MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, TO ANY ACTUAL OR PROSPECTIVE RENTER OF ANY APARTMENT AS TO THE EXISTENCE, OWNERSHIP OR CONDITION OF THE APARTMENT; AS TO THE ADVERTISED AVAILBILITIES, RENT, LEASE TERMS, SECURITY DEPOSIT, OR APPLICATION FEES, IF ANY; OR AS TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF ANY INFORMATION ABOUT AN APARTMENT APPEARING ON A SITE. NCI DOES NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF SUCH INFORMATION. NCI RESERVES THE RIGHT, IN ITS SOLE DISCRETION, TO CORRECT ANY ERROR OR OMISSION ON THE SITES OR IN THE CONTENT. ALL APARTMENTS ARE SUBJECT TO PRIOR LEASE. ANY AND ALL CONCERNS, DIFFERENCES OR DISCREPANCIES REGARDING AN APARTMENT MUST BE ADDRESSED WITH THE LANDLORD AND/OR PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANY PRIOR TO LEASING OF THE APARTMENT. NCI DOES NOT MAKE AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES OR GUARANTEES TO YOU REGARDING THE LISTING SERVICE INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES OR GUARANTEES THAT YOU WILL LEASE YOUR APARTMENT, OBTAIN AN ACCEPTABLE RENT FOR YOUR APARTMENT, ONLY RECEIVE LEGITIMATE INQUIRIES OR SOLICITATIONS FROM QUALIFIED RENTERS, OR RECEIVE ANY INQUIRIES REGARDING YOUR APARTMENT FOR RENT. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS WARRANTY DISCLAIMER, "THIRD-PARTY LICENSOR” DOES NOT INCLUDE YOU. Some states do not allow the disclaimer of implied warranties, so the foregoing disclaimer may not apply to You.

Limitation of Liability

NCI, ITS AFFILIATES, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, CONTRACTORS AND THIRD-PARTY LICENSORS SHALL IN NO EVENT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR LOSSES INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, RESULTING FROM OR CAUSED BY THE SITES, THE SOFTWARE, CONTENT, THE MATERIALS, THE LISTING SERVICE, THESE TERMS OF SERVICE OR OTHERWISE (THE "SERVICE”), INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES RESULTING FROM NEGLIGENCE. IN NO EVENT WILL THE AGGREGATE MAXIMUM LIABILITY OF NCI, ITS AFFILIATES, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, CONTRACTORS AND THIRD-PARTY LICENSORS FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE EXCEED THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF FEES ACTUALLY PAID BY YOU TO NCI. THE NEGATION OF DAMAGES SET FORTH ABOVE IS A FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENT OF THE BASIS OF THE BARGAIN BETWEEN NCI AND YOU. THE SERVICE WOULD NOT BE PROVIDED TO YOU WITHOUT SUCH LIMITATIONS. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM NCI CREATES ANY WARRANTY, REPRESENTATION AND/OR GUARANTEE NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THIS AGREEMENT. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY, "THIRD-PARTY LICENSOR” DOES NOT INCLUDE YOU. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages of implied warranties, so the above exclusion or limitation may not apply to You.

Termination of Service

You understand and agree that in NCI’s sole discretion, and without prior notice, Your access to a Site may be terminated or suspended, and NCI may exercise any other remedy available and remove any Content, if it believes that Your use of a Site and/or any Content You provide (a) violate (i) these Terms of Service, (ii) the rights of NCI, its affiliates, a Licensor, or another User, or (iii) any law or regulation, or are otherwise objectionable or inappropriate or (b) constitute fraudulent activity of any nature. You agree that monetary damages may not provide a sufficient remedy to NCI for violations of these Terms of Service, and You consent to injunctive or other equitable relief for such violations without the requirement that NCI post a bond. NCI is not required to provide any refund to You if Your use is terminated as a result of NCI’s determination, in its sole discretion, that You have violated these Terms of Service.

Miscellaneous

These Terms of Service may be changed at any time and You will be notified of any such changes by an updated posting of the new Terms of Service on this page of a Site. Your continued use of a Site after the posting of any amended Terms of Service shall constitute Your agreement to be bound by any such changes. NCI may modify, suspend, discontinue or restrict the use of any portion of a Site without notice or liability. These Terms of Service will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Georgia without regard to its conflicts of law provisions. You hereby agree that any cause of action You may have with respect to a Site must be exclusively filed in the federal or state courts located in Gwinnett County, GA within one (1) year after the cause of action arises or the cause is barred. You hereby consent to personal jurisdiction in the federal and state courts in Gwinnett County, GA, and waive any objection based on forum non conveniens. As a condition of using a Site, You agree that all causes of action arising out of or connected with a Site shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action. If for any reason a court of competent jurisdiction finds any provision of these Terms of Service, or portion thereof, to be unenforceable, that provision of these Terms of Service will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible so as to affect the intent of the parties, and the remainder of these Terms of Service will continue in full force and effect. Failure by NCI to enforce any provision of these Terms of Service will not be deemed a waiver of future enforcement of that or any other provision of these Terms of Service. These Terms of Service and any other terms and conditions or policies applying to Your use of a Site, constitute the entire agreement between the parties regarding the subject matter hereof. Nothing contained herein shall be construed as creating a partnership, joint venture or agency relationship or granting a franchise between the parties. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, if you and NCI have entered into a separate written internet advertising contract, the terms and conditions of such contract shall control with respect to any term that is inconsistent with these Terms of Service. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS STATED ABOVE OR TO ANY CHANGES TO THESE TERMS OF SERVICE, PLEASE EXIT THE SERVICE IMMEDIATELY.

Last updated: December 16, 2015.