Terms of Service

Last updated: July 9, 2026

1. Acceptance of These Terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a binding agreement between you and ClosingStart ("ClosingStart," "we," "us"). By accessing or using closingstart.com, any ClosingStart application, or any related service (together, the "Service"), you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated by reference. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

If you use the Service on behalf of a company (for example, a brokerage or a service provider business), you represent that you have authority to bind that company, and "you" includes that company.

Service providers who advertise on the platform are additionally bound by the Provider Terms in Section 8. Real estate agents are additionally bound by the Agent Terms in Section 9.

2. Definitions

• "Consumer" — a home buyer or seller using the Service in connection with a real estate transaction.
• "Agent" — a licensed real estate agent or broker using the Service.
• "Provider" — a settlement service provider or trade business (lender, title company, inspector, insurer, mover, etc.) that advertises on the Service.
• "ClosingStart Disclosure" — the estimated closing-cost document the Service generates from a purchase contract. It is an estimate only (see Section 5).
• "Quote" — pricing information a Provider supplies through the Service for comparison.
• "Reveal" — a Consumer's affirmative, recorded grant of permission for a specific Provider to receive the Consumer's contact information and contact the Consumer (see Section 7).

3. What ClosingStart Is — and Is Not

ClosingStart is a neutral comparison and flat-fee advertising platform for real estate closing services. We display provider pricing side by side, generate estimated closing-cost documents, and track transaction deadlines.

ClosingStart is NOT:

• a lender, mortgage broker, or creditor — we do not take loan applications, originate, underwrite, or make credit decisions;
• a title company, escrow company, or settlement/closing agent;
• a law firm — nothing on the Service is legal advice, and no attorney–client relationship is created with ClosingStart by using the Service;
• an insurance company or insurance producer;
• a referral service — we do not recommend, endorse, vet, or steer you toward any Provider;
• a party to any transaction, contract, loan, policy, or engagement between you and any Provider.

No recommendations, ever. A listing on ClosingStart is paid advertising, not a recommendation. Providers are sorted only by objective, consumer-relevant criteria — APR for lenders and mortgage brokers, total quoted price for everything else — and never by what anyone pays us. You are always free to choose any provider, whether or not they appear on the Service.

No ownership interests. ClosingStart has no ownership stake, equity, profit share, or other financial interest in any listed Provider.

4. Eligibility and Accounts

4.1 Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract. The Service currently operates for transactions involving Tennessee real property; using it for other transactions is at your own risk and portions of the Service may not function correctly. Agents must hold an active real estate license in good standing and provide accurate license information. Providers must hold every license, registration, and insurance required to lawfully offer their services (see Section 8). Credential information on the Service is self-reported and not independently verified by ClosingStart — see Section 10.

4.2 Accounts and sign-in

You may sign in with Google or with a one-time email sign-in link ("magic link"). Magic links expire 72 hours after issuance and may be used once. You are responsible for everything that happens under your account and for keeping your email account and devices secure — anyone with access to your email inbox may be able to use a magic link sent to it. Notify us immediately at [email protected] if you suspect unauthorized access.

4.3 Accurate information

You agree to provide accurate, current information and keep it updated. We may suspend or terminate accounts registered with false information.

5. The ClosingStart Disclosure Is an Estimate — Not a Closing Disclosure

This section states the single most important limitation of the Service. Please read it.

Without limiting the above:

• Every figure in a ClosingStart Disclosure, on a comparison page, or in a Quote is an estimate provided for comparison and informational purposes as a convenience, unless expressly labeled a firm quote by the Provider (in which case its terms and expiration are the Provider's alone).
• A ClosingStart Disclosure is not the federal Closing Disclosure required under TRID, is not a Loan Estimate, and is not issued, approved, sanctioned, or endorsed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or any government agency.
• No figure is final until you contact the provider and confirm or lock your pricing. Your actual costs depend on your specific situation, property, credit, and timing, and may change.
• Nothing generated by the Service is a guarantee of pricing, a commitment to lend or to provide services, an offer, or legal, financial, tax, or investment advice.
• Deadline tracking, timelines, and reminders are a convenience only. You and your agent remain solely responsible for knowing and meeting every contractual and legal deadline in your transaction. We do not guarantee reminders will be generated, delivered, or accurate.

6. Quotes, Comparisons, and How Providers Appear

6.1 Quotes belong to Providers

Every Quote is supplied by the Provider (directly or via pricing data the Provider configured). Each Provider — not ClosingStart — is solely responsible for the accuracy, completeness, availability, and legal compliance of its own pricing, quotes, disclosures, and advertising, including (for lenders) compliance with the Truth in Lending Act / Regulation Z, APR accuracy, and all licensing and advertising rules that govern its business. ClosingStart does not verify, underwrite, or guarantee any Quote.

6.2 Neutral presentation (binding on us)

We commit to the following, and these commitments are enforceable terms of this agreement:

• Providers are sorted by objective criteria only: APR (lowest first) for lenders and mortgage brokers; total quoted price (lowest first) for all other categories. Ties break alphabetically.
• What a Provider pays never affects its ranking, ordering, prominence, styling, or inclusion. There are no paid placements, featured slots, sponsored positions, rotation schemes, or ranking boosts of any kind.
• Provider fees are flat subscriptions, uniform within each category. We charge no fees per lead, per click, per contact, per quote, or per closing, and no fee contingent on any transaction closing.
• We pay nothing to Agents, and Providers are prohibited from paying Agents anything, in connection with the Service (Section 9).

6.3 Free choice

You are never required to select any Provider shown on the Service, and no one on the Service — including your Agent — may condition anything on your choice of provider. Comparing several providers helps you find the right fit and price; the choice is always yours.

6.4 Availability of providers

We do not guarantee that any category will contain any particular number of providers or quotes, that any Provider will respond, or that any Provider will honor a Quote. Quotes may expire, change, or be withdrawn by the Provider.

7. Consumer Privacy Moat: Blind Quotes and the Reveal

• Providers prepare Quotes blind: the Service does not give a Provider the Consumer's name, street address, or contact details at the quoting stage.
• No Provider may contact a Consumer — directly or indirectly — unless and until the Consumer grants a Reveal for that specific Provider through the Service.
• A Reveal applies only to the Provider(s) the Consumer selects and only to the transaction at hand. A Consumer may decline or ignore any Provider without consequence.
• Any Provider that attempts to identify or contact a Consumer without a Reveal — including by de-anonymizing transaction data, buying data elsewhere, or going through the Agent — materially breaches these Terms and will be removed from the platform (Section 16), in addition to any other remedy we or the Consumer may have.

8. Provider Terms (applies to every Provider)

8.1 Advertising relationship only

Your subscription buys flat-fee advertising space and comparison eligibility. It does not buy placement, ranking, endorsement, referrals, leads, or any minimum volume of business. You acknowledge that a period with zero consumer contact is a possible and acceptable outcome of a neutral platform.

8.2 Fees

During the launch period the Service is free for Providers. Thereafter, Providers pay a flat monthly subscription that is uniform for every Provider within the same category and plan. Fee amounts and the end of the free launch period will be announced with at least 30 days' notice. Fees are non-refundable except as required by law. There are no per-lead, per-click, per-contact, per-quote, or per-closing charges and no success fees — and you agree never to request, offer, or pay any such arrangement.

8.3 Your compliance is yours

You are solely responsible for your own legal and regulatory compliance, including without limitation: RESPA, the Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z (including APR-led advertising and trigger-term companion disclosures), the Mortgage Acts and Practices Rule, Equal Housing requirements, state licensing and insurance laws, state bar advertising rules, and every disclosure your business is required to make to consumers who view your listing or Quote. ClosingStart provides advertising space; we are not your compliance department, your lawyer, or your regulator, and we do not review your content for legal compliance.

8.4 Required attestations

Before your first listing goes live, and annually thereafter, you must (a) complete every mandatory disclosure field for your category, (b) attest that your disclosures are complete, and (c) acknowledge the standing compliance warning. Listings pause automatically if attestations lapse. You must keep licensing and disclosure information current at all times; a Quote will not render if your attestation record is incomplete.

8.5 Affiliation attestations and duty to update

Every network pairing between you and an Agent requires a truthful, recorded affiliated-business attestation from each side, every time. If an ownership or financial relationship between you and a brokerage (or its owners) forms, changes, or dissolves at any time, you must promptly file a corrected attestation. Declared affiliations are displayed to consumers with a neutral "Affiliation disclosed" badge. ClosingStart never delivers the legal Affiliated Business Arrangement notice on your behalf; if one is required, delivering it is your (and the referring party's) duty.

8.6 Quote conduct

You must quote in good faith, honor quotes to the extent you labeled them firm, promptly correct pricing errors, and never submit a Quote designed to bait-and-switch. You must not contact any Consumer without a Reveal (Section 7).

8.7 Prohibited words

You may not describe yourself in platform content using platform-vouching terms such as "recommended by ClosingStart," "ClosingStart preferred," "verified partner," or equivalents, and you may not state or imply that ClosingStart, any Agent, or the CFPB endorses you.

9. Agent Terms (applies to every Agent)

9.1 Free, forever, unconditionally — and unpaid, forever, unconditionally

The platform is free for Agents. In exchange for that neutrality, you acknowledge and agree that you will never receive — and must never solicit or accept — money, credits, discounts, gifts, or any other thing of value from ClosingStart or from any Provider in connection with the Service, network building, provider recruitment, or any consumer's choice of provider.

9.2 Your networks are lists, not endorsements

Adding a Provider to your network makes that Provider eligible to appear in your clients' comparisons; it never affects sort order and is presented to consumers as a fact about how the screen was built, not as your recommendation. You must not tell clients that ClosingStart's presentation reflects your recommendation or vetting.

9.3 Affiliation attestations

You must answer the affiliated-business question truthfully for every network invitation you send or accept, and promptly file a corrected attestation if a relationship forms or dissolves. If federal law requires an Affiliated Business Arrangement disclosure to your client, delivering it is your duty, not ClosingStart's.

9.4 License and client authority

You represent that you hold an active real estate license in good standing, that you upload contracts and transaction information only for transactions in which you are lawfully engaged, and that you have your client's authorization to submit their contract and transaction information to the Service.

9.5 Your professional duties are unchanged

Nothing in the Service reduces your duties to your clients under your license law, agency agreements, or the REALTOR® Code of Ethics (if applicable). Deadline tracking is a convenience, not a delegation.

10. License and Credential Information

10.1 Self-reported

All licensing, registration, credential, certification, insurance, NMLS, and brokerage information displayed on the Service — for every Provider and every Agent — is self-reported by that party, not established by ClosingStart.

10.2 Screening, not verification

ClosingStart takes reasonable steps to screen self-reported credential information, including format screening of license numbers, required attestations by the reporting party, and an administrative review queue. However, ClosingStart does not independently verify, and does not guarantee, any license, registration, credential, insurance status, or brokerage affiliation of any Provider or Agent. The display of credential information on the Service is not a representation by ClosingStart that the credential exists, is valid, is current, is in good standing, or is sufficient in scope for your transaction.

10.3 Verification responsibility rests with you

Before engaging any party you meet through the Service, verify their licensing directly with the issuing authority. For Tennessee:

• Real estate agents and brokers: Tennessee Real Estate Commission (TREC) — tn.gov/commerce/regboards/trec.html (licensee search via verify.tn.gov);
• Most Provider categories (title and settlement, home inspectors, insurance producers, contractors, and other regulated trades): Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance — tn.gov/commerce.html (license verification via verify.tn.gov);
• Mortgage lenders, brokers, and loan originators: NMLS Consumer Access — nmlsconsumeraccess.org;
• Attorneys: Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee — tbpr.org.

We advise always confirming you are dealing with a responsible, licensed party.

10.4 Reporting inaccuracies; duty to correct

If you believe credential information displayed on the Service is inaccurate, report it to [email protected]. Providers and Agents must promptly correct their own credential information upon any change (see Sections 8.4 and 9.4); false or stale credential information is grounds for suspension or termination under Section 16.

10.5 Relationship to other sections

The disclaimers of warranty (Section 17) and the limitation of liability (Section 18) apply fully to credential information and to any reliance you place on it.

11. Fees for Consumers and Agents

The Service is free for buyers, sellers, and agents. We will not charge Consumers or Agents for the comparison platform. If we ever offer optional paid products (for example, a standalone document tool), they will be separately described, separately priced, entirely optional, and never a condition of using the free platform.

12. Your Content and License to Us

12.1 Ownership

You retain ownership of the contracts, documents, and information you upload ("User Content").

12.2 License

You grant ClosingStart a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, process (including automated extraction and analysis), display, and transmit User Content solely as necessary to provide, secure, and improve the Service and to comply with law. This license ends when the User Content is deleted from the Service, except for backup copies retained per our Privacy Policy and copies we must retain by law.

12.3 Your responsibility for uploads

You represent that you have the right to upload the User Content, including all personal information of transaction parties it contains, and that uploading it violates no law or agreement. Do not upload content you have no right to share.

12.4 Feedback

If you send us ideas or suggestions, we may use them without restriction or compensation.

13. ClosingStart Intellectual Property

The Service — including software, design, text, graphics, logos, the "ClosingStart" name and marks, and generated document formats — is owned by ClosingStart or its licensors and protected by intellectual-property law. We grant you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the Service for its intended purpose. Except for your own User Content and documents generated for your own transaction, you may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, lease, scrape, or reverse-engineer any part of the Service.

14. Acceptable Use

You agree NOT to:

• upload false, misleading, or fraudulent information, contracts, quotes, or license data;
• use the Service for any unlawful purpose, including any scheme involving referral fees, kickbacks, fee-splitting, or steering prohibited by RESPA Section 8;
• contact, identify, or attempt to identify any Consumer without a Reveal (Providers), or facilitate such contact (Agents);
• access or attempt to access another user's account, data, or transaction;
• probe, scan, overload, or interfere with the Service's operation or security, or bypass access controls or rate limits;
• scrape, harvest, or bulk-download platform content, quotes, or provider data, or use automated systems to access the Service without our written permission;
• misrepresent your identity, licensure, or affiliation, or impersonate any person;
• use the Service to build a competing dataset or product;
• reproduce, alter, or present a ClosingStart Disclosure in a way that removes or obscures its "estimate" disclaimers, or hold it out as a federal Closing Disclosure;
• introduce malware or other harmful code.

We may investigate violations and cooperate with law enforcement.

15. Third-Party Services

The Service runs on third-party infrastructure (including hosting, email delivery, and file storage vendors) and offers sign-in via Google, which is governed by Google's own terms. Provider websites, documents, and services linked from the Service are the Providers' own; we are not responsible for them. Your engagement of any Provider is a direct relationship between you and that Provider on that Provider's terms.

16. Suspension and Termination

16.1 By you

You may stop using the Service and request account closure at any time (see the Privacy Policy for data deletion).

16.2 By us

We may suspend or terminate your access, remove listings, or decline to render quotes, with notice where practicable, if: you materially breach these Terms (including any Section 7 privacy-moat violation, any prohibited-fee arrangement, false or stale credential information under Section 10, or a lapsed Provider attestation); we reasonably believe your use creates legal or regulatory risk; or you fail to pay applicable Provider fees. We may also discontinue the Service or any feature with reasonable notice.

16.3 Effect

On termination, your license to use the Service ends. Sections 5, 6.1, 7 (as to obligations already accrued), 10, 12–14, 17–20, and 22–23 survive.

17. Disclaimers of Warranty

THE SERVICE AND ALL CONTENT — INCLUDING EVERY CLOSINGSTART DISCLOSURE, QUOTE, COMPARISON, TIMELINE, AND DEADLINE FEATURE — ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY, AND UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE OPERATION. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, CLOSINGSTART DOES NOT WARRANT: THE ACCURACY OR FINALITY OF ANY ESTIMATE OR QUOTE; THAT ANY PROVIDER WILL PERFORM, RESPOND, OR HONOR PRICING; THE OUTCOME, TIMING, OR CLOSING OF ANY TRANSACTION; THAT DEADLINE REMINDERS WILL BE GENERATED OR DELIVERED; OR THE ACCURACY, VALIDITY, OR CURRENCY OF ANY SELF-REPORTED LICENSE, REGISTRATION, CREDENTIAL, INSURANCE, OR BROKERAGE INFORMATION OF ANY PROVIDER OR AGENT (SEE SECTION 10 — VERIFY CREDENTIALS DIRECTLY WITH THE ISSUING AUTHORITY). AUTOMATED CONTRACT EXTRACTION MAY CONTAIN ERRORS; YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR VERIFYING EXTRACTED DATA AGAINST YOUR CONTRACT. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW CERTAIN WARRANTY EXCLUSIONS, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

18. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW: (A) CLOSINGSTART AND ITS OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, GOODWILL, OR TRANSACTION VALUE, ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THE SERVICE, ANY ESTIMATE OR QUOTE, ANY PROVIDER, OR ANY MISSED DEADLINE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY; AND (B) CLOSINGSTART'S TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100) OR THE AMOUNTS YOU PAID US IN THE TWELVE MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, WHICHEVER IS GREATER. THESE LIMITS DO NOT APPLY WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. CLOSINGSTART IS NOT LIABLE FOR THE ACTS, OMISSIONS, PRICING, SERVICES, LICENSING OR CREDENTIAL STATUS (SECTION 10), OR COMPLIANCE FAILURES OF ANY PROVIDER OR AGENT.

19. Indemnification

You will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless ClosingStart and its officers, employees, and agents from and against claims, damages, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from: (a) your User Content, including personal information you upload; (b) your breach of these Terms — including, for Providers, any inaccurate quote, deficient disclosure, licensing failure, regulatory violation, or unauthorized consumer contact, and, for Agents, any breach of your professional duties or untrue affiliation attestation; (c) your violation of law or of any third party's rights; or (d) your dealings with any other user, Provider, or Agent. We may assume the defense of any matter subject to indemnification, in which case you will cooperate.

20. Dispute Resolution and Governing Law

20.1 Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Tennessee, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules, and by applicable federal law.

20.2 Forum

Any dispute, claim, or controversy arising from or relating to these Terms or the Service that is not resolved informally under Section 20.3 shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts sitting in Tennessee, and each party consents to the personal jurisdiction and venue of those courts.

20.3 Informal resolution first

Before filing any claim, you agree to send a written description of the dispute to [email protected] and give us 30 days to resolve it.

20.4 Time limit

To the extent permitted by law, any claim must be brought within one (1) year after it accrues.

21. Changes to These Terms

We may modify these Terms. For material changes we will give notice by email and/or prominent notice in the Service at least 30 days before the changes take effect (except changes required by law or addressing security, which may take effect sooner). Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance; if you do not agree, stop using the Service before the effective date. The neutrality commitments in Section 6.2 will not be weakened by amendment while the platform lists RESPA-covered providers.

22. Electronic Communications and Notices

You consent to receive agreements, disclosures, transaction notifications, and other communications from us electronically, including by email to your registered address. Email notices are deemed given when sent. You may withdraw consent to electronic delivery by closing your account.

23. Miscellaneous

• Entire agreement. These Terms, the Privacy Policy, and any Provider subscription order form are the entire agreement about the Service and supersede prior agreements on the subject.
• Severability. If a provision is unenforceable, it will be limited to the minimum extent necessary and the rest remains in effect.
• No waiver. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver.
• Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, with notice to you.
• No third-party beneficiaries, except that Consumers may enforce Section 7 (privacy moat) against a breaching Provider to the extent permitted by law.
• Force majeure. We are not liable for delays or failures caused by events beyond our reasonable control.
• Equal housing. ClosingStart supports the Fair Housing Act and equal professional service without regard to any protected class.

24. Contact

Questions about these Terms:

ClosingStart
Email: [email protected]