Terms of Use

1. Not Advice

siftAO is a market screener. It shows what housing markets are doing; it does not tell you what to buy. Nothing on the Site is investment, financial, legal, tax, or appraisal advice, and nothing on the Site is an offer or recommendation to buy, sell, or finance any property. You are solely responsible for your own decisions and for doing your own due diligence, and you should consult qualified professionals before acting.

2. Data and Forecasts

Most data on the Site comes from third parties, including public agencies and private data providers listed on our data sources page. We process and present that data but do not control it. It may be incomplete, delayed, revised, or wrong, and we do not guarantee its accuracy, completeness, or timeliness. Scores, grades, and rankings are our own methodology, not an independent valuation. Forecast ranges are statistical estimates based on past data, not predictions or promises of future values, and actual outcomes may fall outside them.

3. Accounts

3.1 Creating an account. Some features require an account. You agree to provide accurate information and keep it current. You can delete your account at any time from your account page. We may suspend or terminate your account as described in Section 11.

3.2 Account security. You are responsible for keeping your login credentials confidential and for all activity under your account. If you believe your account has been accessed without your permission, tell us right away at info@siftao.com. We are not liable for losses caused by your failure to keep your credentials secure.

4. Using the Site

4.1 License. Subject to these Terms, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use the Site, and to use what you view or download from it, for your own research and decision-making, including in the course of your own business.

4.2 Restrictions. You may not:

• sell, resell, license, sublicense, or redistribute the Site or its data, in whole or in substantial part, whether as-is or repackaged into another dataset, product, or service;
• scrape, crawl, or bulk-download the Site or its data by automated means, except through the MCP endpoint and downloads we provide, within their limits;
• use the Site to build a similar or competing product or service;
• modify, reverse-engineer, decompile, or create derivative works of any part of the Site, except as the law expressly permits;
• get around or interfere with any access control, tier gate, rate limit, or security measure, including by rotating IP addresses or sharing paid access; or
• remove any copyright or proprietary notice.

You may quote or chart small amounts of the data in your own reports, articles, and client materials if you credit siftAO as the source.

4.3 MCP endpoint and automated access. Our MCP endpoint lets AI agents and other software query the Site. You may use it within the rate limits we set and enforce, and only for the uses allowed in Section 4.1. Responses carry the same terms as the rest of the Site. We may change or lower limits, or block any client that overloads the service or breaks these Terms, at any time without notice.

4.4 Changes to the Site. We may modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Site at any time, with or without notice, and we are not liable to you or anyone else for doing so. We have no obligation to provide support or maintenance.

4.5 Ownership. The Site, our software, and our compilations, scores, rankings, and forecasts belong to siftAO or its suppliers. These Terms grant you only the limited license in Section 4.1; all other rights are reserved.

4.6 Feedback. If you send us feedback or suggestions, you grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free license to use them for any purpose without attribution. Please don’t send anything you consider confidential.

5. Subscriptions and Payment

5.1 Paid plans. Paid plans and their current prices are listed on our pricing page. Payments are processed by Stripe, and by subscribing you also agree to Stripe’s terms. Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each billing period and are charged to your payment method until you cancel.

5.2 Cancellation. You can cancel at any time from the billing portal on your account page. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period, and you keep paid access until then. Deleting your account does not cancel your subscription; cancel it in the billing portal first.

5.3 Refunds. If you are not satisfied, you may request a full refund within 30 days of your first payment for a plan by emailing info@siftao.com. After that, payments are non-refundable and we do not provide refunds or credits for partial billing periods, except where the law requires it.

5.4 Price changes. We may change prices. A change applies from your next billing period after we give you notice, and you can cancel before it takes effect.

6. Privacy

Your use of the Site is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which is part of these Terms and describes what we collect, how we use it, and the cookies we use. If these Terms and the Privacy Policy conflict about personal data, the Privacy Policy controls.

7. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless siftAO and its owners, officers, employees, and agents from any claims and reasonable costs or attorneys’ fees arising out of (i) your use of the Site, (ii) your violation of these Terms, or (iii) your violation of any law. We may take control of the defense of any such claim at your expense, and you agree to cooperate. You may not settle any such claim without our prior written consent.

8. Third-Party Services

The Site links to and relies on third-party websites, data, and services, such as map tiles, data providers, and payment processing. We do not control or endorse them and are not responsible for them, and their own terms and privacy practices apply. To the fullest extent the law allows, you release siftAO from claims arising out of third-party services. If you are a California resident, you waive California Civil Code Section 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.”

9. Disclaimers

The Site and all data, scores, and forecasts on it are provided “as is” and “as available.” To the fullest extent permitted by law, siftAO and its suppliers disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, title, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Site will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure. Where the law requires a warranty, it is limited to 90 days from your first use.

10. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law: (a) siftAO and its suppliers will not be liable for any lost profits, investment losses, lost data, costs of substitute products, or any indirect, consequential, incidental, special, exemplary, or punitive damages arising from or related to these Terms or your use of, reliance on, or inability to use the Site or its data; and (b) our total liability for any claim arising under these Terms is capped at the greater of $50 USD and the amount you paid us in the six months before the event giving rise to the claim. Multiple claims do not increase this cap.

11. Term and Termination

These Terms apply while you use the Site. We may suspend or end your access, including deleting your account, at any time and for any reason, including if we believe you have violated these Terms. We are not liable to you for doing so. Sections that by their nature should survive termination, including Sections 1, 2, 4.2, 4.5, 4.6, and 7 through 13, will survive.

12. General

12.1 Changes to these Terms. We may update these Terms. For material changes, we will notify you by email or with a prominent notice on the Site. Continuing to use the Site after that notice means you accept the updated Terms.

12.2 Governing law. These Terms and any dispute about them or the Site are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules. For any claim not subject to arbitration under Section 13, you and siftAO consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Los Angeles County, California. Either party may still seek injunctive relief to protect its intellectual property in any court with jurisdiction, or bring an individual claim in small claims court.

12.3 Electronic communications. You consent to receiving communications from us electronically, by email or by notices on the Site, and agree these satisfy any requirement that notice be in writing.

12.4 Accessibility. See our accessibility statement.

12.5 Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, are the entire agreement between you and siftAO about the Site. If any provision is found unenforceable, it will be modified to the minimum extent needed and the rest stays in effect. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. “Including” means “including without limitation.” You may not assign these Terms without our written consent; we may assign them freely.

12.6 California notice. Under California Civil Code Section 1789.3, California users are entitled to this notice: the Site is provided by SGV Housing LLC, dba siftAO. To file a complaint or get more information about the Site, email info@siftao.com; we will provide our mailing address on request. You may also contact the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs at 1625 N. Market Blvd., Suite N112, Sacramento, CA 95834, or by phone at (800) 952-5210. Your rights under California and other state privacy laws are described in our Privacy Policy.

12.7 Contact. SGV Housing LLC, dba siftAO. Email: info@siftao.com.

13. Dispute Resolution

Please read this section carefully. It affects your legal rights, including your right to sue in court and to a jury trial.

13.1 Applicability. Except as described below, you and siftAO agree to resolve all disputes arising out of or relating to the Site or these Terms through binding individual arbitration, not in court. The exceptions are (i) individual claims that qualify for small claims court and (ii) requests for equitable relief related to intellectual property. This agreement covers claims that arose before you agreed to these Terms.

13.2 Try to resolve it first. Before starting arbitration, the party raising the dispute must send the other a written notice (an “Informal Notice”). Ours goes to info@siftao.com. Within 45 days of receiving it, the parties will meet by phone or video in good faith to try to resolve the dispute. If it isn’t resolved within 60 days of the notice, either party may start arbitration.

13.3 Rules. Arbitration will be administered by JAMS (jamsadr.com). Claims under $250,000, excluding fees and interest, use JAMS’ Streamlined Arbitration Rules; larger claims use its Comprehensive Arbitration Rules. Unless the parties agree otherwise, arbitration will take place in the county where you live. Arbitration materials are confidential. A request for arbitration must include (i) your contact information and account email, if any; (ii) a description of the claims and supporting facts; (iii) the relief sought and a good-faith damages estimate; (iv) confirmation that you completed the informal process in Section 13.2; and (v) proof of payment of any required filing fee.

13.4 Authority of the arbitrator. The arbitrator decides all arbitrable disputes, including the scope and enforceability of this section, except that a court decides (i) challenges to the class action waiver, (ii) disputes about arbitration fees, (iii) whether a condition to arbitration has been met, and (iv) which version of this section applies. The arbitrator may award the same relief as a court, on an individual basis only. The award is final and binding, and judgment may be entered in any court with jurisdiction.

13.5 Waiver of jury trial. By agreeing to arbitration, you and siftAO waive the right to a trial by judge or jury for all covered claims.

13.6 Waiver of class actions. All disputes must be brought on an individual basis. Neither you nor siftAO may bring claims as a plaintiff or class member in any class, representative, or collective proceeding.

If a court finds the class action waiver unenforceable for a particular claim, that claim may be litigated in the state or federal courts in Los Angeles County, California; all other claims remain subject to arbitration.

13.7 Attorneys’ fees. Each party bears its own attorneys’ fees unless the arbitrator finds a claim was frivolous or brought for an improper purpose.

13.8 Batch arbitration. If 100 or more substantially similar demands are filed against siftAO within 30 days by the same law firm or a coordinated group, JAMS will group them into batches of 100, with one arbitrator and one set of fees per batch.

13.9 Opt-out. You may opt out of this section within 30 days of first accepting these Terms by emailing info@siftao.com. Include your name, address, account email, and a clear statement that you want to opt out of arbitration. Opting out does not affect the rest of these Terms.

13.10 Severability. If any part of this section is found invalid, it will be modified to the minimum extent needed to be enforceable, and the rest of this section remains in effect.