Privacy Policy

Introduction

Real Estate Wealth Builders Inc. and its affiliated entities, including Streetwise Mortgages (a trade name of Real Estate Wealth Builders Inc.), Streetwise Wealth, Streetwise Media, and Streetwise Private Capital (together referred to as "Streetwise," "we," "us," or "our"), are committed to protecting your personal information.

This Privacy Policy (the "Policy") outlines how Streetwise collects, uses, discloses, and retains personal information about you, regardless of how you interact with us (except if you are an employee, in which case separate policies apply). This Policy applies if you apply for any of our services, are a customer or client, represent one of our customers, borrowers, mortgage holders or business partners, are a consultant, investor or insurer, visit our websites at streetwisemortgages.com, streetwisewealth.com, streetwiseprivatecapital.com, or privatemortgagescanada.com (together, the "Sites"), or apply for employment with Streetwise. This Policy also outlines your rights under Canadian privacy legislation.

Our Sites are designed for adults and are not intended for children under 14 years of age. We may collect limited information about dependent children through parental or legal guardian consent only, as described in the data collection section below. If you are a parent or guardian and believe we have collected information about your child without proper consent, please contact us immediately using the information at the end of this Policy so we can take steps to remove that information from our systems.

Definition of Personal Information

"Personal information" means any information, in any format, that relates to an identifiable individual and that can be used to directly or indirectly identify that person. Examples include your name, home address, telephone number, email address, date of birth, and social insurance number.

Personal information does not include business contact information used in a commercial context, such as your job title, business telephone number, or work email address.

What Personal Information Does Streetwise Collect

The types of personal information we collect depend on how you interact with us.

Identity and Contact Information

We collect identifying details such as your full name, residential address, telephone number, email address, and social insurance number (for credit reporting and tax-related purposes). This information may be collected when you contact us through our Sites, speak with our representatives, or apply for our services or employment.

Depending on the products or services you are seeking, we may also collect estate planning information such as beneficial ownership details, power of attorney designations, or trusted contact persons. For certain applications, we may collect information about your dependent children, including their names, ages, passport numbers, or birth certificate details. Information about minors is collected only with explicit parental or legal guardian consent.

Financial Information

When you apply for our mortgage or financing services, we collect financial details including bank account information, credit history, income documentation, employment records, assets, liabilities, source of funds, tax records, references, and existing insurance coverage (including life insurance and property insurance where applicable).

Medical and Health Information

For certain insurance products such as life insurance or disability coverage, we may collect health-related information including your health insurance number (for identification purposes) and details about pre-existing medical conditions. The specific information collected depends on the products you are applying for. This information may be shared with our insurance partners to facilitate your application.

Demographic Information

We collect demographic details such as your date of birth and gender when you apply for our services or products.

Employment Application Information

If you apply for a position with Streetwise, we collect information about your work history, education, skills, and qualifications. We may also collect information from references you provide or from recruitment agencies. With your consent, we may conduct background and credit checks as part of the hiring process.

Social Media Information

Streetwise maintains a presence on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter). When you interact with our social media accounts—for example, by liking our page, commenting on posts, or sending us messages—we may receive certain information about you, such as your name, profile picture, and the content of your interactions. The information we receive depends on your privacy settings on each platform. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of these social media services for more information about their data practices.

Technical and Location Information

When you visit our Sites, we automatically collect technical information about your device and browsing activity. This includes your IP address, browser type and version, operating system, the pages you view, time spent on pages, referral sources, and general geographic location based on your IP address. This information is collected through cookies, digital identification verification tools, and similar technologies.

This data helps us present relevant content and offers based on your location or region. For information about managing these technologies, see the "Your Privacy Choices" section below.

We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors interact with our Sites, including which pages are viewed, how visitors arrive at our Sites, and how long they spend browsing. Google Analytics may collect information about your device and online activities. You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking by visiting https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout/

Chatbot Interactions

If you use chatbot features on our Sites, we collect the information you provide during those conversations, including your questions, the information you share, and your responses. This information helps us respond to your inquiries, improve our services, and enhance your experience.

Call Recordings

When you contact our customer service team by telephone, we may record the call for quality assurance and training purposes.

Credit and Background Checks

With your consent, we may conduct credit checks and background checks when you apply for our services or for employment with Streetwise.

Other Interactions

We collect information about other interactions you have with us, including transactions, communications, service requests, and feedback you provide.

How We Use Your Personal Information

We use the personal information we collect for the following purposes, or as otherwise permitted or required by law:

Processing Applications and Delivering Services

We use your information to process and evaluate your applications for mortgage financing, insurance, or other services, including conducting credit checks with your consent.

Operating and Improving Our Business

We use your information to analyze how our Sites are used, generate reports on site performance, ensure our systems function properly, improve our business strategies, detect and prevent fraud or other illegal activity, and maintain the security of our information systems.

Communicating With You

We use your information to respond to your inquiries, including questions submitted through chatbots or other channels, and to send you service-related communications. With your consent, we may also send you marketing communications, newsletters, and personalized offers about our products and services. You can withdraw your consent to marketing communications at any time as described in the "Your Privacy Choices" section.

Security and Loss Prevention

We use your information to verify your identity, investigate security incidents or service issues, and prevent loss or unauthorized access.

Processing Employment Applications

We use information from job applicants to evaluate suitability for open positions or other roles that match your profile, verify references and background information (with your consent), and inform you about employment opportunities that may interest you.

Research and Analytics

We may anonymize or de-identify your personal information and use it for research, analysis, and reporting purposes.

Automated Decision-Making

We may use your information to make automated decisions about you, such as in connection with evaluating service applications or tailoring marketing content. When we use automated decision-making that significantly affects you, we will inform you during the process or when the decision is communicated. You may request information about the decision and access to human review. A decision is considered automated when no individual has meaningfully participated in the decision-making process.

Legal Compliance and Other Permitted Uses

We will not use your personal information for purposes beyond those described in this Policy without your consent, unless we are permitted or required to do so by law—for example, to comply with legal obligations or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Streetwise or others.

How We Share Your Personal Information

We share your personal information only as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Policy:

With Our Employees

Our employees may access your personal information as needed to perform their job functions. Access is limited to those with a legitimate business need to know.

With Affiliates

We may share your personal information among Streetwise-affiliated companies for the purposes described in this Policy. For example, our human resources team may share employment applications with affiliates that have relevant openings.

With Lenders and Insurance Providers

To process your applications for mortgage financing or insurance products, we share relevant information with lenders and insurance providers who may be able to serve your needs.

With Service Providers

We engage third-party companies and individuals to perform services on our behalf. These service providers may include firms providing accounting, financial, tax, legal, marketing (including digital advertising, behavioural targeting, commercial electronic messaging, and social media marketing), website hosting, customer service, and information technology or software services. Service providers receive only the personal information necessary to perform their designated functions and are contractually prohibited from using it for other purposes.

To Protect Rights and Interests

We may disclose personal information when we believe it is appropriate to comply with legal requirements, enforce our agreements, or protect the rights, property, or safety of Streetwise, our clients, or third parties.

In Business Transactions

If Streetwise is involved in a merger, acquisition, sale of assets, reorganization, or similar business transaction (including bankruptcy proceedings), your personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction. Any such transfer will comply with applicable legal requirements.

In Other Circumstances

We may share your personal information in other situations not described above. In such cases, we will inform you and obtain your prior consent, unless disclosure is otherwise permitted or required by law.

Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Cookies are small data files stored on your computer or mobile device when you visit a website. They allow websites to remember information about your visit, such as your preferences and login status. Cookies may be session cookies (which are deleted when you close your browser) or persistent cookies (which remain on your device until deleted or until they expire).

First-party cookies are set by the website you are visiting. Third-party cookies are set by domains other than the one you are visiting, such as advertising or analytics services.

Types of Cookies We Use

Third-Party Websites

When using our Sites, you may be directed to third-party websites for activities such as completing surveys, submitting job applications, or viewing embedded content like videos. These external sites may use their own cookies and have their own privacy practices. We do not control cookies placed by third-party websites, even when you reach them through links on our Sites.

Your Privacy Choices

By providing personal information through our Sites, you consent to our collection, use, and disclosure of that information as described in this Policy. Your consent may be express (given explicitly) or implied (presumed based on your actions or inactions). We generally seek your consent when we wish to use your personal information for new purposes not described in this Policy at the time of collection.

Managing Cookies and Browser Settings

You can control many tracking technologies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to block or delete cookies, and our Sites may display a cookie consent banner that lets you manage your preferences. However, disabling cookies may affect site functionality and your ability to use certain features.

Refer to your browser's help documentation or settings menu for instructions on managing cookies on your device.

To opt out of Google Analytics specifically, download and install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on for your browser.

Withdrawing Consent

You may withdraw your consent to the collection, use, or disclosure of your personal information at any time by contacting us using the information in the "Questions and Complaints" section. Please note that withdrawing consent may affect our ability to provide services to you, as certain uses of your information may be necessary to deliver those services. In some cases, legal requirements may limit your ability to withdraw consent.

Marketing Communications

You may opt out of receiving marketing communications or personalized offers at any time by using the unsubscribe link included in our emails, adjusting your account preferences if you have an account with us, or contacting us directly using the information below. Note that even if you opt out of marketing messages, we may still send you transactional or service-related communications.

Your Privacy Rights

Subject to applicable legal requirements and restrictions, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

Right to Access

You have the right to ask whether we hold personal information about you and to request a copy of that information.

Right to Correction

You have the right to ask us to correct personal information that you believe is inaccurate or incomplete. You may also request correction if you believe the collection, disclosure, or retention of that information was not permitted by law.

Exercising Your Rights

To exercise any of these rights, contact our Privacy Officer using the information provided in the "Questions and Complaints" section below.

How We Protect Your Information

Streetwise maintains reasonable administrative, technical, contractual, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information in our custody or control from loss, theft, unauthorized access, use, modification, or disclosure.

Our security measures include:

• Internal policies and procedures that define employee roles and responsibilities for information protection throughout its lifecycle, with access limited to those with a legitimate need to know
• Technical safeguards for electronically stored information, including firewalls, password protection, anti-virus software, multi-factor authentication, encryption, and system monitoring
• Designation of a Privacy Officer responsible for overseeing compliance with applicable privacy laws
• Regular employee training on privacy obligations and information security practices
• Established procedures for handling privacy complaints, inquiries, and incidents involving personal information
• Contractual requirements and due diligence measures to ensure service providers who receive personal information maintain appropriate security standards

How Long We Keep Your Information

Streetwise retains personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Policy or as required to comply with legal obligations. Retention periods vary depending on the type of information and applicable legal requirements.

We are committed to maintaining personal information that is accurate, complete, and current to the extent necessary for the purposes for which it was collected. We may periodically ask you to confirm or update your information for this purpose.

When personal information is no longer needed, we securely delete or anonymize it.

International Data Transfers

Some of our service providers are located outside your province or territory, including in the United States. When your personal information is processed by service providers outside Canada, it may be subject to the laws of those foreign jurisdictions. These laws may differ from Canadian privacy laws and may permit or require disclosure of information to government authorities, law enforcement agencies, or national security bodies in those jurisdictions.

Questions and Complaints

Streetwise has designated a Privacy Officer to oversee our privacy practices. If you have questions about this Policy, wish to exercise your privacy rights, or believe your privacy concerns have not been adequately addressed, you may contact our Privacy Officer:

Email: [email protected]

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may also contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada or the privacy commissioner in your province or territory.

Policy Updates

We may revise this Policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, technologies, or standards. The effective date at the top of this Policy indicates when it was last updated.

If we make material changes, we will notify you as required by applicable law, which may include posting a notice on our Sites or sending you an email before the changes take effect. We encourage you to review this Policy regularly for the latest information about our privacy practices.

By continuing to use our services after an updated version of this Policy becomes effective, you accept the changes made to this Policy.