These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a legal agreement between you and SKCG Financial Holdings LLC, a Texas limited liability company doing business as HoustonBuilt ("HoustonBuilt," "we," "us," or "our"). By creating an account, submitting a job, submitting a quote, or otherwise using the HoustonBuilt website at houstonbuilt.app or any related service (collectively, the "Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms and by our Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, and HoustonBuilt Guarantee. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.
You must accept these Terms on behalf of yourself and, if you are using the Service on behalf of a company or other legal entity, on behalf of that entity. If you are accepting on behalf of an entity, you represent that you have authority to bind that entity to these Terms.
HoustonBuilt operates a software marketplace that connects homeowners and property owners located primarily in the greater Houston, Texas metropolitan area ("Homeowners") with licensed, insured contractors, tradespeople, and construction professionals ("Contractors"). The Service allows Homeowners to describe a job, request quotes, message Contractors, and pay for completed work through a milestone-based escrow.
HoustonBuilt is a technology platform only. HoustonBuilt is not a contractor, general contractor, construction manager, home-improvement provider, employer of Contractors, agent of Contractors, insurer, escrow agent, or lender. HoustonBuilt does not perform, supervise, direct, warrant, or guarantee the work of any Contractor. Any contract for construction, remodeling, repair, or other services is a direct contract between the Homeowner and the Contractor. HoustonBuilt is not a party to that contract.
HoustonBuilt does not custody or transmit customer funds. All payments are processed and held by Stripe, Inc. or its affiliates ("Stripe") through Stripe Connect. HoustonBuilt is not a money transmitter, money services business, or licensed escrow agent.
The Service is actively evolving. Features may change, be added, or be removed at any time. Some features may be limited or unavailable from time to time as we iterate.
You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract under applicable law to create an account or use the Service. The Service is intended for users located in the United States. If you use the Service from outside the United States, you do so on your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws.
You may register and maintain only one account per person or per business entity, unless we authorize additional accounts in writing. You may not share your account with another person or transfer your account without our prior written consent.
You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information when you register and to keep that information up to date. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. Notify us promptly at hello@houstonbuilt.app if you suspect unauthorized access to your account.
We may verify identity, license status, insurance, business registration, background information, and other details you submit. You authorize us and our third-party verification vendors to make inquiries necessary to validate your information. Providing false or misleading verification information is grounds for immediate suspension or termination.
If you use the Service as a Contractor, you represent, warrant, and agree that at all times you will:
Failure to satisfy any of these obligations may result in immediate suspension, delisting, forfeiture of pending payouts pending investigation, or termination of your account.
If you use the Service as a Homeowner, you represent, warrant, and agree that you will:
HoustonBuilt charges a platform fee for the technology, matching, escrow processing, dispute support, and Guarantee provided through the Service. The platform fee is:
The platform fee is calculated on the gross job value (labor plus materials plus taxes billed through the Service), is disclosed to the Contractor before the Contractor accepts a job, and is automatically deducted by Stripe from the payout to the Contractor at each milestone. Payment processing fees charged by Stripe are separate from and in addition to the platform fee and are disclosed inside the Service. HoustonBuilt may change platform fees on prospective (future) jobs with at least 30 days' prior notice; existing jobs already in progress are billed at the fee rate in effect when the job was accepted.
All payments through the Service are processed by Stripe under Stripe's own terms, including the Stripe Services Agreement and, for Contractors, the Stripe Connected Account Agreement. By using the payment features of the Service, you agree to Stripe's terms and authorize HoustonBuilt to share transaction and identifying information with Stripe as needed to process payments and payouts.
Homeowners fund each project in milestones described in the accepted quote. Funds for each milestone are captured to Stripe on schedule (or on demand, as configured for the job), held by Stripe until the milestone is completed and approved (or auto-approved after the applicable review window), and then released to the Contractor net of the platform fee and Stripe processing fees. HoustonBuilt does not take custody of funds and does not hold customer funds in its own bank account.
Refunds, dispute resolution, and application of the HoustonBuilt Guarantee are described in the HoustonBuilt Guarantee / Refund Policy, which is incorporated by reference. Filing a chargeback with your card issuer or bank instead of using our dispute process may void the Guarantee and result in suspension of your account while the chargeback is under review.
Each party is responsible for its own taxes. HoustonBuilt may be required to issue Form 1099-K or similar tax forms to Contractors that meet applicable thresholds and will collect any tax-reporting information required by law.
The Service includes a 7-Day Money-Back Guarantee (the "HoustonBuilt Guarantee") described in detail in the HoustonBuilt Guarantee / Refund Policy. The Guarantee is a limited contractual commitment from HoustonBuilt to the Homeowner; it is not an insurance product, a warranty of workmanship, or a performance bond. The Guarantee's coverage, exclusions, and claims procedure are set out in the Guarantee document.
You agree not to do any of the following, and not to help or encourage anyone else to do them:
You retain ownership of the photos, project descriptions, portfolio images, reviews, messages, and other content you submit to the Service ("User Content"). By submitting User Content, you grant HoustonBuilt a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable, and transferable license to host, store, reproduce, adapt, publish, publicly display, and distribute the User Content for the purposes of operating, improving, marketing, and promoting the Service. This license survives termination of your account for User Content that has been shared with other users or that we are legally required to retain.
You represent and warrant that (a) you own or have all necessary rights to submit the User Content and grant the license above, (b) the User Content does not violate any third party's intellectual-property, privacy, publicity, or other rights, and (c) the User Content complies with these Terms. You are solely responsible for your User Content.
By creating an account, you consent to receive transactional emails, in-app notifications, and (if you provide a mobile number) text messages related to your account, jobs, quotes, payments, disputes, and the Guarantee. Message and data rates may apply for text messages. You may opt out of non-transactional marketing communications at any time using the unsubscribe link or by emailing hello@houstonbuilt.app; opting out of marketing does not affect transactional messages required to operate your account.
You may close your account at any time by emailing hello@houstonbuilt.app or using any account-closure feature in the Service. Closure will not affect open jobs, funded milestones, ongoing disputes, or amounts owed. You will remain responsible for those obligations until they are resolved.
We may suspend, restrict, or terminate your account, remove listings, or withhold payouts, with or without notice, if we reasonably believe you have violated these Terms, violated applicable law, created a risk of loss or harm to us or another user, or if we are required to do so by law, court order, or a payment provider. If practical, we will explain the reason and give you an opportunity to cure.
Sections that by their nature should survive termination will survive, including Sections 6, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, and 21.
The Service is provided on an "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" basis. To the fullest extent permitted by law, HoustonBuilt disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement, and warranties arising from course of dealing, course of performance, or usage of trade.
Without limiting the foregoing, HoustonBuilt does not warrant that (a) the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure; (b) any information provided by a Contractor or Homeowner is accurate or complete; (c) any Contractor will perform work at any particular level of quality, on schedule, or to your satisfaction; or (d) any specific outcome will result from using the Service.
HoustonBuilt is not a party to any construction, remodeling, repair, or service contract between a Homeowner and a Contractor, and does not guarantee the workmanship of any Contractor beyond the express written terms of the HoustonBuilt Guarantee.
To the fullest extent permitted by law:
Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages. In those jurisdictions, HoustonBuilt's liability will be limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless HoustonBuilt, SKCG Financial Holdings LLC, and their respective officers, members, employees, contractors, and agents from and against any and all claims, damages, losses, liabilities, judgments, penalties, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to (a) your use of the Service, (b) any User Content you submit, (c) your violation of these Terms or of any applicable law, (d) your violation of any third party's rights (including intellectual-property and privacy rights), or (e) any dispute, contract, service, or transaction between you and any other user of the Service. HoustonBuilt reserves the right, at your expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you.
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. Subject to the arbitration provision below, the exclusive venue for any dispute that is not subject to arbitration (for example, small-claims matters or actions to compel arbitration) will be the state or federal courts located in Harris County, Texas, and each party consents to personal jurisdiction and venue in those courts.
You and HoustonBuilt agree that any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms, the Service, the HoustonBuilt Guarantee, or the relationship between you and HoustonBuilt (a "Dispute") will be resolved by binding individual arbitration, except for Disputes that qualify for small-claims court and Disputes seeking to enjoin the infringement of intellectual property.
The arbitration will be administered by either JAMS under its Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Procedures, or by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, at the election of the party initiating the arbitration. If neither administrator is available, the parties will agree on a substitute or petition a court in Harris County, Texas to appoint one.
Arbitration will take place in Harris County, Texas, or (if the claimant is a consumer) at the claimant's option, in the county of the claimant's residence, in each case in English. For claims under [DOLLAR THRESHOLD, e.g. $25,000], the arbitration may proceed by telephone, video, or on documents only.
Filing and administrative fees will be allocated in accordance with the applicable rules of the administrator. If the applicable rules would require you to pay more than you would pay to file the same claim in state court in Harris County, HoustonBuilt will pay the difference, unless the arbitrator finds the claim frivolous.
You and HoustonBuilt each agree that any arbitration or proceeding will be limited to the Dispute between you and HoustonBuilt individually. To the fullest extent permitted by law, (a) no arbitration or proceeding will be joined with any other; (b) there is no right or authority for any Dispute to be arbitrated or resolved on a class-action basis or to use class-action procedures; and (c) there is no right or authority for any Dispute to be brought in a purported representative capacity on behalf of the general public or any other persons.
You may opt out of this arbitration agreement (Sections 17.1–17.5) by sending a written opt-out notice to hello@houstonbuilt.app or by mail to SKCG Financial Holdings LLC, 110 Bagby Street, Apt 53, Houston, TX 77002, within 30 days after you first accept these Terms. The notice must include your full name, the email address associated with your account, and a clear statement that you wish to opt out of arbitration with HoustonBuilt. Opting out will not affect any other part of these Terms.
If the class-action waiver in Section 17.5 is found unenforceable in a particular case, the entire arbitration agreement in this Section 17 is null and void as to that case, and the case will proceed in court under Section 16.
HoustonBuilt respects intellectual-property rights and expects users to do the same. If you believe that content on the Service infringes your copyright, please send a notice under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") to our designated agent, containing: (i) a physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or an authorized agent; (ii) identification of the copyrighted work claimed to be infringed; (iii) identification of the material claimed to be infringing and where it is located on the Service; (iv) your contact information; (v) a statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and (vi) a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notice is accurate and that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner.
Send DMCA notices to our Designated Agent:
We may remove or disable content in response to valid DMCA notices and may terminate the accounts of repeat infringers. If you believe your content was removed in error, you may submit a counter-notice containing the information required by 17 U.S.C. § 512(g)(3). [ATTORNEY: confirm whether HoustonBuilt should also register a Designated Agent with the U.S. Copyright Office under 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(2).]
We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you by email to the address on your account (or by an in-Service notice) at least 30 days before the changes take effect, and we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Non-material changes take effect when posted. Continued use of the Service after the effective date of a change means you accept the updated Terms; if you do not accept them, you must stop using the Service before the effective date.
These Terms, the Privacy Policy, the Cookie Policy, the HoustonBuilt Guarantee, and any additional terms we present in the Service for a specific feature form the entire agreement between you and HoustonBuilt regarding the Service and supersede any prior agreements.
If any provision of these Terms is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect, and the invalid provision will be modified to the minimum extent necessary to be enforceable.
Our failure to enforce any provision of these Terms is not a waiver of that provision.
You may not assign or transfer these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms to an affiliate or in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.
Neither party is liable for any delay or failure caused by events beyond its reasonable control, including natural disasters (hurricanes, tropical storms, floods, freezes — all of which are Houston-relevant), acts of government, pandemics, labor disputes, utility or network outages, or acts of war or terrorism.
Nothing in these Terms creates an employer-employee, agency, partnership, joint-venture, or franchise relationship between HoustonBuilt and any user.
We may give you notices by email to the address on your account, by in-Service notice, or by posting to our website. You are responsible for keeping your email address current.
SKCG Financial Holdings LLC (dba HoustonBuilt)
110 Bagby Street, Apt 53
Houston, TX 77002
Email: hello@houstonbuilt.app
If any capitalized term used in these Terms is not defined here, it has the meaning given in our Privacy Policy or HoustonBuilt Guarantee.