Privacy policy

1. Who we are

countyhomecosts.com ("we", "us") publishes free educational tools and guides for US home buyers, including estimated closing costs, property tax rates, transfer taxes, and articles on HOA documents. We operate the website at countyhomecosts.com.

2. What we do and do not collect

This site has no accounts, no sign-up, and no payment system. We do not ask you for your name, email, phone number, or address. The calculator inputs you enter (purchase price, down payment, HOA dues) are processed in your browser only — they are not sent to us and are not stored on our servers.

Like every website on the internet, our hosting provider records basic technical request information (IP address, browser type, page requested, timestamp) to serve pages and detect abuse. We do not combine those server logs with any other data and we do not sell them.

2a. Google Analytics 4 (analytics)

We use Google Analytics 4 (property ID G-4WNRGFREXE, provided by Google Ireland Limited / Google LLC) to measure aggregate traffic — how many people visit, which counties and guides are read, and which devices they use. We do not use Google Ads, advertising features, or cross-site tracking.

Analytics is gated through Google's Consent Mode v2. Before you make a choice, all storage defaults to "denied" — no analytics cookies are written to your browser. If you choose "Accept all", the _ga and _ga_4WNRGFREXE cookies are set and Google Analytics records your pageviews against a pseudonymous ID for up to 2 years. If you choose "Reject non-essential", no analytics cookies are set and any existing _ga cookies are deleted from your browser; Google may still receive anonymous, cookieless pings used to model aggregate traffic with IP addresses anonymised.

Data collected through Google Analytics is processed by Google on our behalf. See Google's privacy policy and Google Analytics data safeguards. You can opt out site-wide at any time from the footer "Cookie settings" link.

3. Cookies

We use a single strictly-necessary cookie, cc_consent, to remember your choice from the cookie banner for 180 days. No third-party cookies are set today. For a full list, how to change your choice, and how to delete cookies from your browser, see our cookie policy.

4. How your inputs stay with you

The county cost calculator runs entirely in your browser. Figures you type — purchase price, down payment, HOA dues — are used to compute an estimate on the page and are never transmitted to us. Closing the tab discards them.

5. Children

This site is not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect any information from them.

6. Your rights

Because we do not collect personal information tied to you, most data-subject requests (access, deletion, correction) do not apply. You may at any time:

• Withdraw your cookie consent from the footer "Cookie settings" link.
• Delete our cookie from your browser settings.
• Contact us at privacy@countyhomecosts.com with any question about this policy.

7. California residents (CCPA / CPRA)

We do not sell or share personal information. California residents have the right to know what we collect and to request deletion; contact us at the address above to exercise those rights.

8. Not legal or financial advice

Nothing on this site is legal, financial, tax, or real estate advice. All content — including estimated costs, tax rates, and HOA explanations — is educational. Consult qualified licensed professionals before acting on anything you read here.

9. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the site evolves (for example, when new tools or analytics are added). The "Last updated" date at the top of this page will change. Material changes will also be surfaced via the cookie banner.

10. Contact

Questions or privacy requests: privacy@countyhomecosts.com.