Legal Landscape - HotHouse Leads Documentation

Federal Marketing & Communications Law

Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Requires prior express consent before using autodialers or prerecorded messages to contact consumers, and defines “telephone solicitation” exemptions for existing business relationships.¹

CAN-SPAM & email consent. Commercial email must include identification, opt-out instructions, and a valid physical address; align landing-page disclosure and buyer terms with these requirements.

Truth-in-marketing. Direct mail and landing pages cannot include deceptive claims about guaranteed sales outcomes; ensure disclaimers clarify that HotHouse Leads sells data access, not brokerage services.

State-Level Auction & Brokerage Considerations (Ohio Focus)

Ohio defines an auction as a sale of real or personal property via bidding; because HotHouse Leads only sells data unlocks, maintain explicit disclaimers that no property rights transfer to stay outside auction licensing.²

Continue legal review to confirm that data unlock fees do not trigger Ohio’s real estate wholesaling restrictions; document how exclusivity applies only to lead contact info, not assignable purchase rights.

Data Privacy & Security Obligations

The GAO observes that no comprehensive federal privacy law covers marketing data brokers, leaving gaps in consumer access, correction rights, and limits on sensitive data use.³

Adopt NIST’s Privacy Framework to inventory data assets, map processing purposes, evaluate risk scenarios (e.g., re-identification), and select controls such as minimization, differential privacy, and contractual safeguards.⁴

Maintain consent logs, opt-out tools, and buyer usage tracking to demonstrate responsible stewardship of first-party data.

Direct Mail & Consent Documentation

USPS Every Door Direct Mail offers a compliant vehicle for reaching homeowners at scale, and it provides demographic filters to pre-qualify neighborhoods before dispatching QR-enabled postcards.⁵

Archive postcard artwork, disclosure text, and drop dates for audit purposes; confirm state-specific requirements for disclaimers (e.g., “This is a solicitation for data-sharing services”).

Buyer Governance

Buyer onboarding should include license verification (where applicable), acceptance of TCPA/CAN-SPAM obligations, and agreement to use leads solely for legitimate acquisition outreach.

Implement monitoring for complaint reports, opt-out enforcement, and credit claw-back policies for misuse.

47 U.S.C. §227. Restrictions on the use of telephone equipment, including consent requirements for telemarketing calls and texts. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/47/227 ↩
Ohio Revised Code §4707.01. Definition of “auction” and “auctioneer,” clarifying applicability to sales of property. https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4707.01 ↩
U.S. Government Accountability Office. Information Resellers: Consumer Privacy Framework Needs to Reflect Changes in Technology and the Marketplace. https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-13-663 ↩
National Institute of Standards and Technology. “The NIST Privacy Framework ... a voluntary tool to help organizations identify and manage privacy risk.” https://www.nist.gov/privacy-framework ↩
United States Postal Service. “Using Every Door Direct Mail® services ... USPS Marketing Flats currently $0.247 per piece.” https://www.usps.com/business/every-door-direct-mail.htm ↩

Legal & Compliance Landscape

Federal Marketing & Communications Law

State-Level Auction & Brokerage Considerations (Ohio Focus)

Data Privacy & Security Obligations

Direct Mail & Consent Documentation

Buyer Governance