Terms & Conditions of Service
HousePics.ca is an independent, privately owned local Canadian business with its' head office located in Toronto, Ontario.
HousePics.ca is committed to customer satisfaction and providing premium quality services to our valued clientele.
This document represents our terms of doing business and providing services.
It is important for our clients to read and understand these policies in order to avoid any potential misunderstandings or disputes.
In return for our providing services, you agree to the following terms and conditions.
BOOKINGS AND APPOINTMENTS
Please book all appointments through our online ordering site www.HousePics.ca
Confirmations will be issued for all appointments and unless otherwise agreed an exact appointment date and time will be provided.
Clients are responsible for ensuring the property is made available and accessible to our photographers on the date and time confirmed.
Clients are responsible for ensuring the property is ready for photography at the confirmed appointment time.
Our photographers take pride in arriving one time and subject to events beyond their control, will arrive at the scheduled time.
Note: Normal on-site time from start to finish is approximately 20 minutes for a 2,000 square foot home.
If the photographer arrives at the property and it is untidy or otherwise not ready for photography, the photographer may (at their discretion) wait for a maximum of ten minutes for the home to be prepared. They are unable to wait longer in fairness to other clients and homeowners to ensure that the photographer is not late for their following appointments.
In the event the property is not ready after ten minutes, we will reschedule the photography for an alternate time/date. In this event, a "not-ready" fee may be assessed.
Property Sizes: Included with our basic tour package is approximately 20 minutes of on-site photography time. Generally this is sufficient to photograph homes up to 2,000 square feet, provided they are ready upon arrival. For larger homes we will allow additional time on-site based on the property size supplied by the agent or as indicated on our order form. Note that finished basements, lofts, outbuildings, etc., if photographed, will be added to the property size (if not already included) and used for pricing purposes.
In the event the property size supplied by the agent or indicated on the order form differs from the property size indicated on TorontoMLS.net and or MPAC, the property size indicated on TorontoMLS.net and/or MPAC will be used for pricing purposes.
Additional Charges: In addition to the basic tour charges, we reserve the right to charge either on a time-and-materials or flat rate basis for other services performed at your request or otherwise. Other services may include, but are not limited to, services such as photo editing, lightening, colour correction, cropping, blurring of personal homeowner photographs which may appear in the tour, removal or blurring of personal effects or signage that may appear in the tour, adding customer supplied photos to the tour, deleting or rearranging photos or panoramic scenes from the tour, photographing of condominium or area amenities or other features or any additional onsite time beyond 30 minutes, unless the additional time was agreed to in advance.
Included with each tour package is approximately 20 minutes travel allowance to the property.
Property locations outside our normal travel areas may incur an additional Location Service Fee, either based on time and travel expenses or a flat rate charge or a per kilometre charge.
Out of town properties subcontracted to our affiliated tour providers may be subject to an administrative service charge.
Any expenses such as parking fees, 407 toll fees or other out-of-pocket expenses may be rebilled at our discretion.
PAYMENTS
1. We may charge your credit card for your order amount any time after we receive your order.
2. Your credit card may be charged again after you place an order for such items cancellation fees or additional services requested after the initial order or adjustments due to property size etc.
3. All prices are subject to change without notice and are quoted in Canadian funds.
4. Taxes are extra on all items.
CANCELLATIONS & REFUNDS
Please notify us of cancellations via email to bookings@mvltoronto.com or by telephone to 1-888-733-7385.
Cancellations or requests to reschedule appointments received after 6:00pm the business day (Monday to Friday) prior to the scheduled photo shoot may be assessed a cancellation fee.
A credit note will be issued for cancelled appointments to be applied to future tours. Unused credit notes over 90 days old will be refunded upon request via the original method of payment less a 5% administration fee to cover our credit card processing charges.
QUALITY OF WORK
Our photographers are professionals who photograph thousands of homes each year.
Upon arrival many clients ask for our photographers opinion on what changes should be made to the home.
Note that our photographers are not home stagers and do not have time allocated to assess and recommend changes in the home.
It is the responsibility of our clients to ensure that homes look their best prior to the arrival of the photographer.
All photographs including the variety and nature of views, angles, property features, coverage etc. will be made at the discretion of the photographer.
In the event the photographs do not meet our standards of quality in our sole and absolute discretion, we will re-shoot or enhance either some or all of the photographs at no charge to you. Requests for re-shoots must be made within 24 hours of delivery of the tour. No refunds for completed tours will be provided.
In assessing the quality of the photographs/virtual tour we consider the following characteristics:
-Straightness of vertical lines
-Sharpness/focus
-Distortion
-Lighting relative to both exterior conditions on day of photography and type and availability of indoor and natural light.
-How well the photo overall reflects the layout of the actual home as viewed in person.
-Whether the finished product provides buyers with a reasonable "virtual tour" representation of the property.
Things we do not consider and for which we will not re-shoot or edit free-of-charge:
-Colour Accuracy (In many cases it is not possible to achieve accurate colour matching using on-camera flash)
-Messy rooms
-Clutter
-Cleanliness
-Shadows caused by natural or artificial light
-Dimly lit rooms and areas
-Personal objects in photos - photographs etc.
-Requests for specific views, angles or photographs of specific elements of the property.
Requests to re-shoot or edit any particular photos due to the above reasons will be undertaken at our standard re-shoot rate or hourly fee.
Please remember we are shooting photos for a virtual tour, not a magazine and are charging accordingly.
COPYRIGHT, OWNERSHIP AND USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS AND VIRTUAL TOUR
In accordance with Canadian copyright law, all photographs taken as a result of booking a tour with us are the sole property of HousePics.ca.
HousePics.ca reserves all rights with respect to the ownership, copyright and use of the photos as we see fit.
By booking a tour with us, clients acknowledge that we may use any or all of the photos or virtual tours for marketing or advertising purposes.
Properties that are photographed will be uploaded to the Internet and can be viewed, accessed and photographs downloaded by the public.
Castle Photo Tours has no control over the eventual distribution of virtual tours and/or photographs to third-party sites such as Google, Yahoo or other Internet search providers nor do we have the ability to remove tours and/or photographs from these third-party sites.
You are granted a limited, non-exclusive right to use the photographs and virtual tour products and software provided by us for real estate marketing purposes only and strictly for the original address and original agent for which they were ordered.
You may upload additional photographs to any tour provided you are the originator and copyright holder of the photographs.
Uploading of additional photographs to any virtual tour which belong or have been supplied by a third party is not permitted due to potential copyright violation.
LIABILITY AND WARRANTY DISCLAIMER
HousePics.ca does not make any representations about the suitability of the photographs provided for any particular purpose.
Although we make every effort to capture each main room and primary washrooms in each home, the homeowner and/or agent are responsible for ensuring that all areas of the home are photographed. Returning to re-shoot missing rooms, washrooms, cupboards or other features is subject to our standard re-shoot fee.
Many of HousePics.ca photographers are independent contractors. HousePics.ca are not liable for any negligence, damages, or any wrongdoing on the part of the independent contractors.
In the event of any claim, HousePics.ca total liability shall be limited to the amount paid for services.
Neither HousePics.ca nor its independently contracted photographers are responsible for damages, delays or failures in performance resulting from acts or occurrences beyond our reasonable control such as acts of God, weather, or other uncontrollable conditions.
These terms and conditions in this document represent the entire agreement between HousePics.ca and the client.
These terms and conditions may be revised from time to time without notice. Please check this document frequently for changes.