Terms of Service

Last updated November 6, 2024

ADDENDA:

Each Product Addendum can be viewed at the respective URLs immediately below:

1. OVERVIEW

PLEASE READ THE TERMS OF SERVICE CAREFULLY. THE TERMS OF SERVICE (THE “AGREEMENT”) CONSTITUTE A LEGAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU (“YOU”) AND ABODE FINANCIAL HOLDINGS, INC., A DELAWARE CORPORATION, AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES AND AFFILIATED COMPANIES (COLLECTIVELY, “ABODE,” “COMPANY,” “WE,” “US,” OR “OUR”).

THE AGREEMENT PROVIDES THAT WITH LIMITED EXCEPTIONS COVERED BY SECTION 17.3 OF THE AGREEMENT ALL DISPUTES BETWEEN YOU AND ABODE ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY RELATED TO THE AGREEMENT (THE “DISPUTES”) WILL BE RESOLVED BY BINDING ARBITRATION. FOR SUCH DISPUTES, YOU WAIVE YOUR RIGHT TO BRING A CLASS ACTION OR GO TO COURT UNDER THE AGREEMENT. YOUR RIGHTS WILL BE DETERMINED BY A NEUTRAL ARBITRATOR AND NOT A JUDGE OR JURY, AND YOUR CLAIMS MUST BE BROUGHT INDIVIDUALLY AND NOT AS A CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION. PLEASE REVIEW SECTION 17 (THE “DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND ARBITRATION AGREEMENT”) FOR DETAILS REGARDING YOUR AGREEMENT TO INDIVIDUALLY ARBITRATE ANY DISPUTES WITH ABODE.

The Agreement, including the Privacy Policy, and all addenda, including but not limited the Property Tax Addendum (“Property Tax Addendum”), Insurance Addendum (“Insurance Addendum”), and Residential Energy Addendum (“Energy Addendum”), which are incorporated into the Agreement by reference, and any other applicable policies and guidelines, as may be updated from time to time, govern your use of the Abode’s mobile application (the “App”) and/or website, www.ownabode.com (the “Site”) (collectively, the “Platform”), as well as all related products, websites, services, networks, and downloadable software provided by us (collectively, together with the Platform, our “Services”). The Agreement constitutes a legal agreement between you and Abode. In order to use the Services you must agree to the terms in the Agreement.

All references to “you” or “your,” as applicable, mean the person who uses, downloads, accesses, and/or participates in the Services in any manner and each of your heirs, assigns, and successors. If you use the Services on behalf of a person, entity, organization, or company, you represent and warrant that you have the legal authority to bind that entity to the Agreement, your acceptance of the Agreement will be deemed an acceptance by that entity, and “you” and “your” herein shall refer to that entity.

BY DOWNLOADING, INSTALLING, OR OTHERWISE ACCESSING OR USING THE SERVICES, YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTOOD, AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS CONTAINED IN THE AGREEMENT.  IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS, YOU MAY NOT USE THE SERVICES.  ABODE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MODIFY THE TERMS IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 18.

As provided in greater detail in the Agreement, you agree to and acknowledge these and other material terms:

  • The Services are licensed, not sold to you, and you may use the Services only as set forth in the Agreement;
  • Your use of the Services may be subject to separate third-party terms of service and fees, including but not limited to your mobile network operator’s ("Carrier") terms of service and fees, including fees charged for data usage and overage, which are your sole responsibility;
  • You consent to the collection, sharing, and use of your personally identifiable information in accordance with Abode’s Privacy Policy;
  • The Services are provided "as is" without warranties of any kind, and Abode’s liability to you is limited; 
  • DISPUTES ARISING UNDER OR IN ANY WAY RELATED TO THE AGREEMENT WILL BE RESOLVED BY BINDING ARBITRATION; and
  • Abode is not an insurance agent, insurance broker, carrier, insurer, property assessor, legal advisor, tax consultant, retail electricity provider (“REP”), or utility and disclaims any and all liability regarding services provided to you by third-party providers.

2. ELIGIBILITY

You must be at least eighteen (18) years old to use the Services. By agreeing to the Agreement, you represent and warrant to us: (1) That you are at least eighteen (18) years old; (2) That you have not previously been suspended, banned, or removed from the Platform or use of the Services; (3) That your registration and your use of the Services is in compliance with any and all applicable laws regulations; and (4) that you are the legal owner or the authorized representative of the legal owner of any home or property in relation to which you use the Services. 

3. OUR SERVICES

3.1 Generally

As part of the Services, Abode may assist you in managing expenses related to homeownership, including without limitation by i) appointing, through authority as your limited agent, third-party tax consultants for the purpose of appealing Property Tax assessments from relevant government agencies, ii) connecting you with third-party insurance agents, brokers, carriers, insurers, or other insurance service providers for the purpose receiving Insurance quotations and other insurance services, and/or iii) acting as an electricity broker and facilitating your enrollment in a retail electric plan with a retail electricity provider (“REP”), and/or your connecting you with utilities, or other energy service providers for the purpose of lowering your residential energy costs. Abode operates in limited jurisdictions. The information provided by you when using the Services is not intended for distribution to or use by any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use is contrary to law or regulation or which would subject us to any registration requirement within such jurisdiction or country. Accordingly, those persons who choose to access the Services from other locations do so on their own initiative and are solely responsible for compliance with local laws, if and to the extent local laws are applicable. The Services are and may be further described through addenda, including but not limited to the Property Tax Addendum, Insurance Addendum, Energy Addendum, and any other addenda.

3.2 Property Tax 

To the extent that you access the Services for the purpose of lowering your Property Tax assessment, your obligations under the Agreement are further set forth in the Property Tax Addendum.  BY ACCESSING THE SERVICES YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT ABODE IS NOT A LICENSED PROPERTY ASSESSOR, LEGAL ADVISOR, OR TAX CONSULTANT. Abode does not provide any services deemed to be legal, advisory, or brokered services nor is Abode licensed by the state for these purposes. Abode may connect you with third-party providers, including but not limited to licensed tax consultants. We are not responsible or liable in any way for the conduct of the third-party providers with whom you are connected through the Services. We do not guarantee or warrant that your use of the Services or the services of a third-party provider will result in a lowered Property Tax assessment. These limitations are further described in the Property Tax Addendum, at Sections 10, 19, and 20 of the Agreement, and elsewhere herein.

3.3 Insurance

To the extent that you access the Services for the purpose of lowering your Insurance premium, your obligations under the Agreement are further set forth in the Insurance Addendum. BY ACCESSING THE SERVICES YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT ABODE IS NOT AN INSURANCE AGENT, BROKER, CARRIER, OR INSURER. Abode does not act as an agent of any carrier, assess risk, issue insurance contracts or bind coverage, transmit insurance policies to you, sell insurance coverage, collect premium payments, submit applications for insurance to any carrier, or provide any assessment of any terms quoted to you. Nor does Abode endorse or recommend any insurance companies or specific types of insurance policies. We are not responsible or liable in any way for the conduct of the insurance agents, brokers, carriers, insurers, and discount program representatives and companies with whom you are connected through the Services. The insurance coverage provided by any third-party service provider will be subject to the terms and conditions of the insurance policy under which it is issued, and we have no control over such terms and conditions. While we publish content on the Platform about insurance and Property Taxes, we do not provide insurance, tax, legal, or financial advice of any kind. We do not provide any services deemed to be legal, advisory, or brokered services nor are we licensed by the state for the purpose of providing the Services. We do not guarantee or warrant that any of the insurance agents, brokers, or companies with whom we connect you will contact you or agree to provide you coverage or that your use of the Services will result in a lowered homeowner’s insurance premium or other savings. These limitations are further described in the Insurance Addendum, at Sections 10, 19, and 20 of the Agreement, and elsewhere herein.

3.3 Energy

To the extent that you access the Services for the purpose of lowering your home energy costs, including but not limited to your electricity costs, your obligations under the Agreement are further set forth in the Energy Addendum. Abode is a licensed Texas electricity broker. BY ACCESSING THE SERVICES YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT ABODE IS NOT AN REP, UTILITY, OR OTHER ENERGY SERVICE PROVIDER.  Abode will not directly provide you with retail electric service or physically deliver you electricity. We are not responsible or liable in any way for the conduct of REPs or utilities with whom you are connected through the Services, or the reliability of their services. The retail electric plan provided by any REP or third-party service provider will be subject to the terms and conditions of the REP or third party, and we have no control over such terms and conditions. We do not guarantee or warrant that any retail electric plan that you purchase from an REP will result in lowered energy costs or other savings. These limitations are further described in the Energy Addendum, at Sections 10, 19, and 20 of the Agreement, and elsewhere herein. Required disclosures under the Texas Administrative Code, including information on how to contact Abode, can be found in the Energy Addendum and at Section 26 of the Agreement.

3.4 Other Services 

As part of the Services, Abode may provide to you other products for the purpose of enabling you to manage expenses related to homeownership. 

3.5 Acceptable Use of the Services

In order to use the Services, you agree to the following:

  • The Services, including any content that forms part of the Services, contains proprietary content, information and material that is protected by applicable intellectual property and other laws, including copyright;
  • You will not violate, or encourage others to violate, any right of a third party, including by infringing or misappropriating any third-party intellectual property right, or otherwise engage in the unauthorized use of any proprietary content, information or materials;
  • Unless expressly permitted, you may not alter, modify, create derivative works of, sell, license or in any way exploit any part of the Services, and you agree not to copy, reproduce, distribute, publish, display, perform, transmit, stream or broadcast any part of the Platform without prior written authorization;
  • You agree that your use of the Services will not violate any local, state, or federal laws and regulations and that you shall comply with all such laws and regulations in your use of the Services;
  • You agree that you are the owner or the authorized representative of the owner of any property in relation to which you use the Services;
  • You agree that all documents and information that you submit in relation to use of the Services are accurate and true;
  • You agree not to bypass any security or other features of the Services designed to control the manner in which the Services are used, harvest or mine content from the Services, or otherwise access or use the Services in a manner inconsistent with individual human use;
  • You agree not to perform any fraudulent activity, including impersonating any person or entity, or accessing any other Services account without permission;
  • You agree not to decipher, reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble the Services, or the software used to provide the Platform, in whole or in part, or authorize, direct, or cause a third party to do so;
  • You agree not to use, display, mirror, frame or utilize framing techniques to enclose the Services, or any portion thereof, unless and solely to the extent Abode makes available the means for embedding any part of the Services;
  • You agree not to access, tamper with, or use non-public areas of the Services, Adobe’s (and its hosting company’s) computer systems and infrastructure, or the technical delivery systems of Abode’s providers;
  • You agree not to use any robot, spambot, spider, crawler, scraper or other automated means or interface not provided by us to access the Services or to extract data;
  • You agree not to use the Services in any manner to harass, abuse, stalk, threaten, defame or otherwise infringe or violate the rights of any other party, and that Abode is not in any way responsible for any such use by you, nor for any harassing, threatening, defamatory, offensive or illegal messages or transmissions that you may receive as a result of using the Services;
  • You agree that your use of the Services may incur third-party fees, such as fees charged by your Carrier for data usage or by third-party providers, and may be subject to third-party terms, such as your Carrier’s terms of service or third-party providers’ terms of service, and you agree to pay all such fees and abide by all such terms; and
  • You agree not to introduce viruses, time-bombs, worms, cancelbots, trojan horses and/or other harmful code into the Services.

4. SCOPE OF LICENSE

The Services are licensed, not sold, to you for use only under the terms of this license. Abode reserves all rights not expressly granted to you. Subject to your complete and ongoing compliance with the Agreement, Abode hereby grants you a personal, limited, non-sublicensable, non-transferable, and revocable license to access the Services on compatible devices that you own or control, solely for your own personal, non-commercial use, and only in a manner that complies with all legal requirements that apply to you or your use of the Services. Abode may revoke this license at any time, for any reason, in its sole discretion. You may not modify, alter, reproduce, distribute or make the Services available over a network where they could be used by multiple devices at the same time. You may not rent, lease, lend, sell, redistribute or sublicense the Services. If you breach these license restrictions, or otherwise exceed the scope of the license granted in the Agreement, you may be subject to prosecution and legal damages, as well as liability for infringement of intellectual property rights. 

5. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

We are the exclusive owner or the licensee of all intellectual property rights in our Services, including all source code, databases, functionality, software, website designs, audio, video, photographs, and graphics in the Services (collectively, the "Content"), as well as the trademarks, service marks, and logos contained therein (the "Marks"). Our Content and Marks are protected by copyright and trademark laws and various other intellectual property rights and unfair competition laws in the United States and around the world. The Content and Marks are provided in or through the Services "AS IS" for your personal, non-commercial use only. 

6. CONFIDENTIALITY

You acknowledge and agree that when using the Platform, you may have direct or indirect access or exposure to Abode’s confidential information ("Confidential Information"). Confidential Information includes Abode’s data, provider IDs, user information, consumer information, third-party provider information, and the transaction volume, marketing and business plans, business, financial, technical, operational and such other nonpublic information (whether disclosed in writing or verbally) that Abode designates as being proprietary or confidential or that you should reasonably know to treat as confidential.

You acknowledge and agree that: (1) all Confidential Information shall remain the exclusive property of the Abode; (2) you shall not use Confidential Information for any purpose except in furtherance of your use of the Services; (3) you shall not disclose Confidential Information to any third party; and (d) you shall not store or keep Confidential Information and shall return or destroy (with confirmation of destruction) all Confidential Information upon the termination of your use of the Platform or at the request of Abode.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, Confidential Information shall not include any information to the extent it: (1) is or becomes part of the public domain through no action or omission by you; (2) was possessed by you prior to your use of the Platform without an obligation of confidentiality; or (3) is disclosed to you by a third party having no obligation of confidentiality.

7. YOUR DATA

We care about data privacy and security. Please review our Privacy Policy: http://www.ownabode.com/privacypolicy. By using the Services, you agree to be bound by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into the Agreement. Please be advised the Services are hosted in the United States. If you access the Services from any other region of the laws or other requirements governing personal data collection, use, or disclosure that differ from applicable laws in the United States, then through your continued use of the you are transferring your data to the United States, and you expressly consent to have your data transferred to and processed in the United States. Further, we do not knowingly accept, request, or solicit information from children or knowingly market to children.

We will maintain certain data that you transmit to the Platform for the purpose of managing the performance of the Services, as well as but not limited to data relating to your use of the Services. Although we perform regular routine backups of data, you are solely responsible for all data that you transmit or that relates to any activity you have undertaken using the Services. You agree that we shall have no liability to you for any loss or corruption of any such data, and you hereby waive any right of action against us arising from any such loss or corruption of such data.

8. USER REGISTRATION

To access some features of the Services, you must register for an account. When you register for an account, you may be required to provide us with some information about yourself (such as your name, credit card information, e-mail address, phone number, profile image, or other information). You agree that the information you provide to us is accurate, current, and complete, and that you will keep it up-to-date at all times. When you register, you will be asked to provide a password. You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account and password, and any password for Facebook, Google, or other third-party login. You accept responsibility for all activities that occur under your account. If you have reason to believe that your account is no longer secure, you must immediately notify us via hello@ownabode.com. Abode will not be liable and you may be liable for losses, damages, liability, expenses, and lawyers’ fees incurred by Abode or a third party arising from someone else using your account due to your conduct regardless of whether you have notified us of such unauthorized use. You understand and agree that we may require you to provide information that may be used to confirm your identity and help ensure the security of your account.

9. YOUR CONTENT

You may submit, upload, publish or otherwise make available textual, audio, and/or visual content and information, including commentary and feedback related to the Services, and questions you ask us in customer service features of the Services ("User Content"). Any User Content provided by you remains your property. However, by providing User Content to us, you grant us a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, transferable, unrestricted, non-exclusive, absolute, royalty-free license, with the right to sublicense, to use, copy, modify, transmit, reproduce, exhibit, disclose, display, transform, create derivative works of, distribute, publicly display, publicly perform, and/or otherwise exploit in any manner such User Content in all formats and distribution channels now known or hereafter devised, without further notice to or consent from you, and without the requirement of payment to you or any other person or entity. We shall be free to use any ideas, concepts, know-hows or techniques contained in such User Content for any purpose whatsoever, including but not limited to developing, manufacturing and marketing products and/or services incorporating any User Content. You represent and warrant that: (i) you are either the sole and exclusive owner of all User Content or you have all rights, licenses, consents and releases necessary to grant us the license to the User Content as set forth above; and (ii) neither the User Content nor your submission, uploading, publishing or otherwise making available of such User Content nor our use of the User Content as permitted herein will infringe, misappropriate or violate a third-party's intellectual property or proprietary rights, or rights of publicity or privacy, or result in the violation of any applicable law or regulation. You agree to not provide User Content that is defamatory, libelous, hateful, violent, obscene, pornographic, unlawful, or otherwise offensive, as determined by us in our sole discretion, whether or not such material may be protected by law. We may, but shall not be obligated to, review, monitor, or remove User Content, at our sole discretion at any time and for any reason or no reason, without notice to you or any others.

10. THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS AND MATERIALS

The Platform may display, include or make available content, data, information, applications or materials from third parties including, without limitation, advertising and marketing materials (“Third-Party Materials”), or provide links to certain third-party web sites, including those of third-party providers providing related services. By using the Platform, you acknowledge and agree to receive such Third-Party Materials and that Abode is not responsible for examining or evaluating the content, accuracy, completeness, timeliness, validity, copyright compliance, legality, decency, quality or any other aspect of such Third-Party Materials, third-party services, web sites, security or privacy practices, or terms of service. Abode does not warrant or endorse and does not assume and will not have any liability or responsibility to you or any other person for any Third-Party Materials, third-party services, web sites, security or privacy practices, terms of service, or for any other materials or products of third parties.

11. COMMUNICATIONS

11.1. Text Messaging

By using the services, you agree that Abode, those acting on Abode’s behalf, and third-party providers to whom you may connect through your use of the Services may send you text (SMS) messages at the phone number you provided us. These messages may include operational messages about your use of the Services, as well as marketing or other promotional messages. Reply STOP to opt-out. Reply HELP for help. You may continue to receive text messages for a short period while Abode processes your request, and you may also receive text messages confirming the receipt of your opt-out request. If you do not want to receive operational text messages from Abode do not utilize the Services. Text messages may be sent using an automatic telephone dialing system. Your agreement to receive marketing texts is not a condition of any purchase or use of the Services.  If you change or deactivate the phone number you provided to Abode, you must update your account information to help prevent us from inadvertently communicating with anyone who acquires your old number. Standard data and message rates may apply for SMS and MMS alerts, whether you send or receive such messages. Please contact your Carrier for details.

11.2. Push Notifications

When you install our App on your mobile device you agree to receive push notifications, which are messages an app sends you on your mobile device even when the app is not on. You can turn off notifications by visiting your mobile device's "settings" page.

11.3. Email 

You agree that Abode, those acting on Abode’s behalf, and third-party providers to whom you may connect through your use of the Services may send you emails concerning products and services, as well as those of third parties. You may opt-out of promotional emails by following the unsubscribe instructions in a promotional email.

11.4 Telephone

You agree that Abode, those acting on Abode’s behalf, and third-party providers to which you may connect through your use of the Services may contact you by the telephone number(s) you provided to us. These communications may be generated by automatic telephone dialing systems which may deliver pre-recorded messages.

11.5. Notice of Intellectual Property Infringement

In accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and other applicable law, it is the policy of Abode, in appropriate circumstances, to terminate the registration account of a user who is deemed to infringe third-party intellectual property rights and/or to remove user content that is deemed to be infringing. If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement and is displayed on the Services, please provide substantially the following information to us at contact@ownabode.com (please consult your legal counsel or see 17 U.S.C. Section 512(c)(3) to confirm these requirements):

  • An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright or other intellectual property interest;
  • A description of your copyrighted work or other intellectual property that you claim has been infringed;
  • A description of where the material you claim is infringing is located on the Platform (providing us with website URL is the quickest way to help us locate content quickly);
  • Your address, telephone number, and email address;
  • A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
  • A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright or intellectual property owner or authorized to act on the copyright or intellectual property owner's behalf.

Please also note that, pursuant to Section 512(f) of the Copyright Act, any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material or activity is infringing may be subject to liability.

11.6. Electronic Signatures and Communications

You agree to be bound by Abode’s eSIGN DISCLOSURE AND CONSENT AGREEMENT (“E-Sign Agreement”), incorporated herein by reference. By affirmatively agreeing to be bound by the Agreement, you authorize Abode to affix your electronic signature to the Agreement for the purpose of sharing and authenticating the Agreement with third parties. Your electronic signature may be digitally generated on your behalf and therefore may not be a true reflection of your manual signature. 

12. PURCHASES AND PAYMENT

12.1. General Payment Terms

You understand that use of the Services may result in charges to you for the Services that you receive from Abode and/or third-party services and products that you purchase or receive from third-party providers (collectively, “Charges”). You understand that Abode is not responsible for Charges, including but not limited to premiums, fees or taxes related to any insurance, property tax, energy, or other products, that you receive from any third-party provider, including but not limited to any insurer, insurance agent, insurance broker or carrier, property assessor, legal advisor, tax consultant, REP, utility, or other third party. Nor is Abode responsible for Charges, including but not limited to any taxes or fees, charged to you by any government agency, third-party provider of any government agency, or other third party. 

Charges for the Services may be charged to you by Abode on a flat fee basis, subscription fee basis, variable fee basis, other basis, or calculated as a percentage of savings (“Success Fee”) expressed as the difference between your current Insurance premium, fees, Property Tax bill, and/or energy costs and the lowered insurance premium, fees, Property Tax bill, or energy costs, if any, achieved as a result of your use of the Services during a certain period of time. Because of the nature of the Services, Abode does not always know how much Abode or any third-party provider, their partner, or any government agency will charge you. Depending on how Abode charges you, you may have the opportunity to review an estimate of the amount that you will be charged prior to purchase. The final amount may differ from the estimate. In all cases, you acknowledge and accept that such an amount will be charged and you agree to pay said amount. Abode may change or add Charges for use of the Services at any time as we deem necessary or appropriate for our business.

Abode has no obligation to itemize its costs, profits or margins when publishing prices for the Services and reserves the right to change such prices at any time, at its discretion. You are liable for all transaction taxes. Abode will charge the payment method you specify at the time of purchase or as otherwise specified by you in your account information. Abode may also place a pre-authorization hold on your payment method, as described in Section 12.2.

Charges paid by you to Abode are final and non-refundable, except as expressly provided in Section 12.2, and will be quoted in the local currency of the location where the Service is provided. Except as expressly provided in Section 12.2, Abode has no obligation to provide refunds or credits. However, Abode, in its sole discretion, may provide users with refunds, product credits, or make promotional offers with different features and different rates to any consumers. These credits and offers may be used for future transactions and may be subject to additional terms and conditions. Such credits or offers are non-transferrable, may not be resold, and are not redeemable for cash or other consideration. Abode reserves its right to expire, limit, or modify any credits or promotion at any time. If your account is canceled for any or no reason, you may forfeit any pending, current, or future credits or promotional offers and any other forms of unredeemed value in or associated with your account without prior notice to you.

12.2. Payment Authorization

You authorize Abode to charge all Charges to the payment method designated in your account, including by credit card. When using the Services a temporary pre-authorization may be placed on your designated payment method to verify that the card is valid and has funds available for your intended purchase. The amount of this pre-authorization hold may be greater or less than total charged. In the event that the pre-authorization is greater than the final amount charged, the difference will be released after your purchase is completed or canceled; depending on your bank, it may take up to 5 business days to receive access to these released funds.

With respect to certain third-party providers, Charges you incur will be owed directly to such providers, and Abode may collect payment of those Charges from you on behalf of such third-party providers when acting as the third-party providers’ limited payment collection agent. In such instances, your payment of such Charges will be considered the same as payment made directly by you to the applicable provider.

Abode reserves the right to request additional information from you if we have reason to believe, in our sole discretion, that a payment method may be fraudulent.

13. SERVICES MANAGEMENT

We reserve the right, but not the obligation, to: (1) monitor the Services for violations of these Agreements; (2) take appropriate legal action against anyone who, in our sole discretion, violates the law or the Agreement, including without limitation, reporting such user to law enforcement authorities; (3) in our sole discretion and without limitation, refuse, restrict access to, limit the availability of, or disable (to the extent technologically feasible) any of your User Content or any portion thereof; (4) in our sole discretion and without limitation, notice, or liability, to remove from the Services or otherwise disable all files and content that are excessive in size or are in any way burdensome to our systems; and (5) otherwise manage the Services in a manner designed to protect our rights and property and to facilitate the proper functioning of the Services.

14. TERM AND TERMINATION

The Agreement is effective until terminated by you or Abode as described below and shall automatically renew on an annual basis unless terminated by you or Abode prior to the date of renewal. Your rights under the Agreement will terminate automatically without notice from Abode if you fail to comply with any of the terms of the Agreement (including by violating any license restriction contained herein). In addition, Abode may in its sole discretion terminate your user account on the Platform or suspend or terminate your access to the Services or delete your account at any time for any reason and without notice. We also reserve the right to modify or discontinue the Services at any time (including by limiting or discontinuing certain features of the Services) without notice to you. We will have no liability whatsoever on account of any change to the Services or any suspension or termination of your access to or use of the Services. You may terminate the Agreement at any time by closing your account ceasing use of the Platform. If we terminate or suspend your account you are prohibited from registering and creating a new account under your name, a fake or borrowed name, or a third party, even if you may be acting on behalf of the third party. In addition to terminating or suspending your account, we reserve the right to take appropriate legal action, including without limitation pursuing civil, criminal, and injunctive redress. Sections 5-7, 9-12, 16-25 survive termination of your account or the Agreement. You remain responsible for all fees due under the Agreement which arise from a Service provided prior to termination, including all flat fees, up-front fees, and subscription fees, which are non-refundable.

15. MODIFICATIONS AND INTERRUPTIONS

 We reserve the right to change, revise, update, suspend, discontinue, or otherwise modify the Services at any time or for any reason without notice to you. However, we have no obligation to update any information on our Services. We will not be liable to you or any third party for any modification, price change, suspension, or discontinuance of the Services. We cannot guarantee the Services will always be available. We may experience hardware, software, or other problems or need to perform maintenance related to the Services, resulting in interruptions, delays, or errors. You agree that we have no liability whatsoever for any loss, damage, or inconvenience caused by your inability to access or use the Services during any downtime or discontinuance of the Services. Nothing in the Agreement will be construed to obligate us to maintain and support the Services or to supply any corrections, updates, or releases in connection therewith.

16. GOVERNING LAW

The Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Texas without regard to conflict of law principles. If a lawsuit or court proceeding is permitted under the Agreement, you and Abode agree to submit to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of the state courts and federal courts located within Travis County, Texas for the purpose of litigating any Dispute. We operate the Services from our offices in Texas, and we make no representation that materials included in the Services are appropriate or available for use in other locations. 

17. DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND ARBITRATION 

17.1. Disputes

Abode is not a party to, has no involvement or interest in, makes no representations or warranties as to, and has no responsibility or liability with respect to any communications, transactions, interactions, disputes or any relations whatsoever between you and any other user, third party, third-party provider, or government agency. Disputes between you and Abode are subject to this Section 17. The parties acknowledge that the Agreement evidences a transaction involving interstate commerce. Notwithstanding Section 16 of the Agreement with respect to applicable substantive law, any arbitration conducted pursuant to the terms of the Agreement shall be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (9 U.S.C., Secs. 1-16).

17.2. Generally

In the interest of resolving Disputes between you and Abode in the most expedient and cost effective manner, you and Abode agree that every Dispute arising in connection with the Agreement will be resolved by binding individual arbitration. Arbitration is more informal than a lawsuit in court. Arbitration uses a neutral arbitrator instead of a judge or jury, and can be subject to very limited review by courts. While the parties will be permitted to engage in discovery or exchange of non-privileged information relevant to the dispute, arbitration may allow for more limited discovery allowed for in court. Arbitrators can award the same damages and relief that a court can award. Our agreement to arbitrate disputes includes all claims arising out of or relating to any aspect of the Agreement, the Platform, or your relationship with us, whether based in contract, tort, statute, fraud, misrepresentation, or any other legal theory, and regardless of whether a claim arises during or after the termination of the Agreement.

YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT, BY ENTERING INTO THESE TERMS, YOU AND ABODE ARE EACH WAIVING THE RIGHT TO GO TO COURT OR TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION.

17.3. Exceptions

Despite the provisions of the paragraph directly above, we both agree that nothing in the Agreement will be deemed to waive, preclude, or otherwise limit the right of either of us to (1) Bring an individual action in small claims court or (2) File suit in a court of law to address an intellectual property infringement claim, or for Abode to (3) Utilize a collections agency for the purposes of collecting past due Charges due to an REP under the Energy Amendment.

17.4. Arbitrator

Any arbitration between you and Abode shall be conducted by a single arbitrator, governed by JAMS pursuant to its Comprehensive Arbitration Rules & Procedures (collectively, “JAMS Rules”), as modified by the Agreement, and administered by JAMS. The JAMS Rules and fee information are available at www.jamsadr.org or by calling JAMS at 1-800-352-5267. The arbitrator is bound by these arbitration terms. All issues are for the arbitrator to decide, including, but not limited to, issues relating to the scope, enforceability, and arbitrabilty of this Section 17.

17.5. Notice Process

A party who intends to seek arbitration must first send a written notice of the Dispute to the other, by certified mail or Federal Express (signature required), or if we do not have a physical address on file for you, by electronic mail ("Notice").

Abode’s address for Notice is:

Abode Financial Holdings, Inc. 1909 Alexander #1119, Austin, TX 78722.

Attention: Operations Department

The Notice must: (1) Describe the nature and basis of the claim or dispute; and (2) Set forth the specific relief sought ("Demand").

We agree to use good faith efforts to resolve the claim directly, but if we do not reach an agreement to do so within thirty (30) days after the Notice is received, you or Abode may commence an arbitration proceeding. During the arbitration, the amount of any settlement offer made by you or Abode must not be disclosed to the arbitrator until after the arbitrator makes a final decision and award, if any.

17.6. Fees and Location

If you commence arbitration in accordance with the Agreement, you will be required to pay $250 to initiate the arbitration. If the arbitrator finds the arbitration to be non-frivolous, Abode will pay all other fees invoiced by JAMS, including filing fees and arbitrator and hearing expenses. You are responsible for your own attorneys’ fees unless the arbitration rules and/or applicable law provide otherwise.

Arbitration shall be conducted in Travis County, Texas, or another location to which we agree. You and Abode further agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of any federal or state court in Travis County, Texas in order to compel arbitration, to stay proceedings pending arbitration, or to confirm, modify, vacate, or enter judgment on the award entered by the arbitrator. If a claim is for $10,000 or less, you may choose whether the arbitration will be conducted: (1) Solely on the basis of documents submitted to the arbitrator; or (2) Through a non-appearance based telephone hearing.

If the arbitrator finds that either the substance of your claim or the relief sought in the Demand is frivolous or brought for an improper purpose (as measured by the standards set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b)), then the payment of all fees will be governed by the JAMS Rules. In that case, you agree to reimburse Abode for all monies previously disbursed by it that are otherwise your obligation to pay under the JAMS Rules. Regardless of the manner in which the arbitration is conducted, the arbitrator must issue a reasoned written decision sufficient to explain the essential findings and conclusions on which the decision and award, if any, are based.

The arbitrator may make rulings and resolve disputes as to the payment and reimbursement of fees or expenses at any time during the proceeding and upon request from either party made within fourteen (14) days of the arbitrator’s ruling on the merits.

17.7. No Class or Representative Actions

YOU AND ABODE AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING.

Further, unless both you and Abode agree otherwise, the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person’s claims, and may not otherwise preside over any form of a representative or class proceeding. If any court or arbitrator determines that this “No Class or Representative Actions” section is void or unenforceable for any reason or that an arbitration can proceed on a class or representative basis, then the arbitration provisions set forth above shall be deemed null and void in their entirety and the parties shall be deemed to have not agreed to arbitrate disputes.

18. MODIFICATION OF THE AGREEMENT

Except as explicitly described in the Dispute Resolution and Arbitration section, we reserve the right to update or modify the Agreement at any time without prior notice, and such changes will be effective immediately upon being posted through the Platform. The Agreement will identify the date of the last update. Except as explicitly described in the Dispute Resolution and Arbitration section, your use of the Services following any such change constitutes your agreement to be bound by the modified Agreement. In the case of material changes to the Agreement, we will make reasonable efforts to notify you of the change, such as through sending an email to the address you may have used to register for an account, through a pop-up window on the Platform, or other similar mechanism.

We may supply different or additional terms, conditions, guidelines, policies, or rules in relation to some of our Services made available on or through Services (“Supplemental Terms”). Any Supplemental Terms become part of the Agreement with us if you use the applicable Services and are hereby incorporated herein. If there is a conflict between these Terms and the Supplemental Terms, the Agreement will control for that conflict. Addenda shall be considered Supplemental Terms.

19. DISCLAIMERS

THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN AS-IS AND AS-AVAILABLE BASIS. YOU AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES WILL BE AT YOUR SOLE RISK. TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICES AND YOUR USE THEREOF, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. IN ADDITION, ABODE MAKES NO REPRESENTATION, WARRANTY, OR GUARANTEE REGARDING THE RELIABILITY, TIMELINESS, QUALITY, SUITABILITY, OR AVAILABILITY OF THE SERVICES OR ANY Thi SERVICES OR PRODUCTS REQUESTED THROUGH THE USE OF THE SERVICES, OR THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE.

ABODE DOES NOT WARRANT, ENDORSE, GUARANTEE, OR ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE QUALITY, SUITABILITY, SAFETY, OR ABILITY OF THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO INSURANCE AGENTS, BROKERS, CARRIERS, INSURERS, PROPERTY ASSESSORS, TAX CONSULTANTS, LEGAL ADVISORS, REP, OR UTILITIES TO WHICH YOU MAY BE CONNECTED, OR THE SERVICES THEY PROVIDE. YOU AGREE THAT THE ENTIRE RISK ARISING OUT OF YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES, AND ANY SERVICE OR PRODUCT REQUESTED OR OBTAINED FROM THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH, REMAINS SOLELY WITH YOU, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.

ABODE DOES NOT CONTROL, MANAGE OR DIRECT ANY THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS. THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS ARE NOT ACTUAL AGENTS, APPARENT AGENTS, OSTENSIBLE AGENTS, OR EMPLOYEES OF ABODE. IF A DISPUTE ARISES BETWEEN YOU AND OR ANY OTHER THIRD-PARTY, YOU RELEASE ABODE FROM LOSSES OF EVERY KIND AND NATURE, KNOWN AND UNKNOWN, SUSPECTED AND UNSUSPECTED, DISCLOSED AND UNDISCLOSED, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH SUCH DISPUTES.

ABODE DOES NOT CONTROL, ENDORSE OR TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY USER CONTENT OR THIRD-PARTY CONTENT AVAILABLE ON OR LINKED TO BY THE SERVICES. ABODE CANNOT AND DOES NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS.

ABODE DOES NOT GUARANTEE THAT YOUR RESIDENTIAL COSTS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO YOUR Insurance, Property Tax, OR RESIDENTIAL ENERGY COSTS WILL BE LOWERED AS A RESULT OF YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES OR YOUR USE OF ANY THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS’ SERVICES OR PRODUCTS.

ALL DISCLAIMERS SET FORTH IN ANY SUPPLEMENTAL TERMS ARE INCORPORATED HEREIN.

20. LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY

ABODE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, LOST SAVINGS, LOST INSURANCE COVERAGE, LOST PROPERTY VALUE, LOST DATA, PERSONAL INJURY OR DEATH, OR PROPERTY DAMAGE RELATED TO, IN CONNECTION WITH, OR OTHERWISE RESULTING FROM ANY USE OF THE SERVICES, REGARDLESS OF THE NEGLIGENCE (EITHER ACTIVE, AFFIRMATIVE, SOLE, OR CONCURRENT) OF ABODE, EVEN IF ABODE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN NO EVENT SHALL ABODE’S AGGREGATE LIABILITY EXCEED THE ABODE CHARGES ACTUALLY OWED BY YOU TO ABODE IN THE THREE (3) MONTH PERIOD IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM. 

ABODE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, LIABILITY OR LOSSES ARISING OUT OF: (i) YOUR USE OF OR RELIANCE ON THE SERVICES OR YOUR INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE THE SERVICES; OR (ii) ANY TRANSACTION OR RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOU AND ANY THIRD-PARTY PROVIDER, EVEN IF ABODE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR ACTS AS YOUR LIMITED AGENT FOR THE PURPOSE OF APPOINTING SUCH THIRD-PARTY PROVIDER. ABODE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR DELAY OR FAILURE IN PERFORMANCE RESULTING FROM CAUSES BEYOND ABODE'S REASONABLE CONTROL. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS ARE NOT OSTENSIBLE AGENTS, APPARENT AGENTS, ACTUAL AGENTS, OR EMPLOYEES OF ABODE.

THE SERVICES MAY BE USED BY YOU TO REQUEST INSURANCE AND ENERGY QUOTATIONS, INSURANCE POLICIES, PROPERTY ASSESSMENTS, TAX CONSULTING SERVICES, ENERGY PRODUCTS, AND OTHER SERVICES OR PRODUCTS FROM THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS, BUT YOU AGREE THAT ABODE HAS NO RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY TO YOU RELATED TO THE PROVISION OF SUCH SERVICES AND PRODUCTS PROVIDED TO OR NOT PROVIDED TO YOU BY THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS OTHER THAN AS EXPRESSLY SET FORTH IN THESE TERMS.

ABODE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, LIABILITY OR LOSSES ARISING OUT OF THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS’ FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE LAW, INCLUDING PERMITTING AND LICENSING REQUIREMENTS.

THE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS IN THIS SECTION DO NOT PURPORT TO LIMIT LIABILITY OR ALTER YOUR RIGHTS AS A CONSUMER THAT CANNOT BE EXCLUDED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW. BECAUSE SOME STATES OR JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF OR THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, IN SUCH STATES OR JURISDICTIONS, ABODE LIABILITY SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. THIS PROVISION SHALL HAVE NO EFFECT ON ABODE'S CHOICE OF LAW PROVISION.

THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY SECTION APPLIES FULLY IN ALL STATES, INCLUDING RESIDENTS OF NEW JERSEY. IF YOU ARE A CALIFORNIA RESIDENT, YOU WAIVE CALIFORNIA CIVIL CODE §1542, WHICH SAYS:

A GENERAL RELEASE DOES NOT EXTEND TO CLAIMS THAT THE CREDITOR OR RELEASING PARTY DOES NOT KNOW OR SUSPECT TO EXIST IN HIS OR HER FAVOR AT THE TIME OF EXECUTING THE RELEASE AND THAT IF KNOWN BY HIM OR HER WOULD HAVE MATERIALLY AFFECTED HIS OR HER SETTLEMENT WITH THE DEBTOR OR RELEASED PARTY.

21. INDEMNIFICATION

You are responsible for your use of the Services, and you agree to defend (at Abode’s option), indemnify, and hold harmless Abode and its affiliates and its and their respective officers, directors, employees, contractors, consultants, affiliates, investors, service providers, business partners, subsidiaries and agents from and against every claim, liability, damage, loss, and expense, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, arising out of or in any way connected with:

  • Your violation of any of the Agreement, any representation, warranty, or agreement referenced in the Agreement, or any applicable law or regulation;
  • Your violation of any third-party right, including any intellectual property right or publicity, confidentiality, other property, or privacy right; or
  • Any dispute or issue between you and any third party, including but not limited to any of Abode’s third-party providers, any insurer, insurance agent, broker, or any government agency.
  • Any overt harmful act toward any other user of the Services with whom you connected via the Services. 

We reserve the right, at our own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you (without limiting your indemnification obligations) and you agree to cooperate with our defense of that claim. If the defense or settlement is assumed by you, Abode may at any time thereafter elect to take over control of the defense and settlement of the claim. You must not settle any claim without Abode’s prior written consent.

22. ASSIGNMENT

You may not assign or transfer the Agreement or your rights under the Agreement, in whole or in part, by operation of law or otherwise, without our prior written consent. We may assign the Agreement in whole or in part at any time to any entity without your notice or consent. Any purported assignment by you in violation of this section shall be void.

23. NOTICE

Abode may give notice by any means of communication reasonably anticipated to notify you of the information provided. You agree that all notices, disclosures, and other communications that we provide to you electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing or be delivered in a particular manner. You agree that you have the ability to store such electronic communications such that they remain accessible to you in an unchanged form. By way of example only, such communication may be a general notice on the Platform or via email to the email address listed on your Abode account. It is your obligation to update your account information so that we may contact you as may be necessary. Such notice shall be deemed to have been given 48 hours after dispatch. If physical notice (e.g., US Mail) is used, then such notice shall be deemed to have been given 7 days after dispatch.

Except as explicitly described in the Dispute Resolution and Arbitration section, you may give notice to Abode (such notice shall be deemed given when received by Abode) at any time by any of the following: letter delivered by nationally recognized overnight delivery service or first class postage prepaid mail to Abode at the following address:

Abode Financial Holdings, Inc. 1909 Alexander #1119, Austin, TX 78722.

Attention: Operations Department

24. CALIFORNIA USERS AND RESIDENTS

If any complaint with us is not satisfactorily resolved, you can contact the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs in writing at 1625 North Market Blvd., Suite N 112, Sacramento, California 95834 or by telephone at (800) 952-5210 or (916) 445-1254.

25. GENERAL

25.1 Waiver and Severability

Except as explicitly described in the Dispute Resolution and Arbitration section, if any provision of the Agreement is held to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be struck and the remaining provisions shall be enforced to the fullest extent under law. The failure of Abode to enforce any right or provision in the Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision unless acknowledged and agreed to by Abode in writing.

25.2 Entire Agreement

The Agreement comprises the entire agreement between you and Abode and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous negotiations, discussions or agreements, whether written or oral, between the parties regarding the subject matter contained in the Agreement.

25.3 Relationship of the Parties

Except for the limited agency relationship that exists solely for the purpose of appointing a tax consultant on your behalf and is described in the Property Tax Addendum, no joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between you and Abode as a result of the Agreement or use of the Services.

26. CONTACT AND COMPLAINTS.

To resolve a complaint regarding the Services or to receive further information regarding use of the Services, please contact us at: contact@ownabode.com or visit our website at www.ownabode.com. 

For Services related to electricity, you may also submit complaints and inquiries to the Public Utility Commission of Texas: (512) 936-7120 or in Texas (toll-free) 1-888-782-8477, fax (512) 936-7003, email address: customer@puc.texas.gov, Internet website address: www.puc.texas.gov, and Relay Texas (toll-free) 1-800-735-2989.