MassHousing Privacy Policy
This website ("Website") is provided by Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency ("MassHousing") for use by borrowers, other customers and business partners of MassHousing. By using this Website, and in doing so accepting the Terms and Conditions of Use under which you may use this Website (see Terms & Conditions), you consent to the use of your Personal Data (defined below) as described in this Privacy Policy ("Policy").
Consumer Privacy Policy
This online Privacy Policy supplements but does not replace MassHousing's Consumer Privacy Policy.
Collection and Use of Personal Data
Your privacy is important to MassHousing. MassHousing at times collects, retains and utilizes Personal Data about you to operate its business and to make its products, services and other opportunities available. The term "Personal Data" means personally identifiable information that MassHousing obtains about you, including your IP address, name, telephone number, mailing address, and email address. MassHousing recognizes and respects your privacy concerns about this information. If you do not wish to receive emails including marketing and promotional information from MassHousing, please let MassHousing know by following the "Unsubscribe" procedure set forth below. MassHousing obtains information in a variety of ways (for example, directly from you in applications, from your transactions or experiences with MassHousing or its affiliates, and from credit bureaus and other third parties). Also, when you visit the website, MassHousing collects information to measure the use of its site and to improve the content of its site, as described below.
Log Files
As is true of most websites, MassHousing gathers certain information automatically and stores it in log files. This information includes Internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, Internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, operating system, date/time stamp, and clickstream data.MassHousing uses a third-party tracking service provided by DoubleClick that uses cookies to track non-personally identifiable information about visitors to the Website in the aggregate so that MassHousing can learn which advertisements bring Internet users to its website, analyze trends, administer the site, track users' movements around the site, and gather demographic information about its user-base as a whole. Cookies are small data files that a website can place on a user's computer to allow the website to store and retrieve data about that particular user so that the web site can provide or perform a variety of tasks and functions. MassHousing does not link the information it stores in cookies to any of your Personal Data.
Spotlight Tags
MassHousing uses spotlight tags, which are transparent GIF files embedded in the website, to help manage and track the effectiveness of online advertising. These spotlight tags are provided by DoubleClick. The spotlight tags enable DoubleClick to recognize a unique cookie on your web browser, which in turn enables us to learn through DoubleClick which advertisements bring users to the Website. The cookie was placed by us, or by another advertiser who works with DoubleClick. The information that we collect via spotlight tags and share is anonymous and not personally identifiable. For more information about DoubleClick, including its privacy policy and information about how to opt out of these technologies, go to www.doubleclick.net.Disclosure of Information
Personal Data may occasionally be transferred to third parties who act for us for further processing in accordance with the purposes for which the data was originally collected or for purposes to which you have subsequently consented. For example, sometimes a third party may have access to your Personal Data in order to support our information technology or to handle mailings on our behalf.Specifically, at your direction (when you click the "Submit" button), any information that you provide to MassHousing in the mortgage eligibility check will be stored on MassHousing computer network servers. Links to the websites of lenders serving your selected community may be displayed. MassHousing is not responsible for the privacy practices or other content of such websites. All prospective lenders operate under federal and state laws regarding consumer privacy.
MassHousing does not disclose any Personal Data about its customers or former customers to anyone, except as permitted by law (for example, we may disclose your information as necessary to effect a transaction requested by you, to a consumer reporting agency in accordance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, or to comply with an authorized civil, criminal or regulatory investigation).
MassHousing may, in its sole discretion, share or transfer your Personal Data where permitted or required by law, to comply with legal process, to interact with anti-fraud databases, to protect your vital interests, to protect the security or integrity of its databases or the Website, to enforce the Terms and Conditions of Use or protect MassHousing's business or reputation, to take precautions against legal liability, in the event of a business transition (see below), to protect and defend the rights or property of MassHousing, for required institutional risk control, or for resolving disputes, inquiries or complaints with respect to your use of the Website.