terms of service

SpotHOA is software that helps small self-managed homeowners associations (HOAs) run their community. That covers a dues ledger, a document vault, violation tracking, meetings, announcements, and related board tools.

These terms apply to three groups of people: the HOA itself (as an organization), the board members and other administrators you designate, and the homeowners and residents you invite. We call all three groups you below unless the context calls out a specific role.

You must be 18 or older and located in the United States to create an account. Version 1 of SpotHOA only supports US-based HOAs. If your HOA is organized outside the US, stop here — the service will not serve your community.

You agree not to:

• Impersonate another person or HOA.
• Use the service to harass other members or residents.
• Upload content you don't have the rights to share, or content that violates applicable law.
• Attempt to bypass abuse guards (rate limits, CAPTCHA) or scrape the service.
• Use SpotHOA to manage a property that isn't a self-managed HOA (for example: tenant screening, rental marketplaces, or professional property management).

The full list of prohibited uses lives in our Acceptable Use Policy, which is incorporated into these terms by reference.

You create an account through Stytch, our authentication provider, using a passwordless email magic link. You are responsible for keeping access to your email account secure and for all activity under your account. Tell us right away if you suspect unauthorized access.

Board members may invite other members, assign roles, and revoke access. An HOA's president or designated administrator is responsible for keeping the member list accurate.

The HOA owns the data it puts into SpotHOA: member records, the ledger, documents, meeting minutes, votes, and everything else. We act as a data processoron the HOA's behalf — we store, back up, and make the data available to authorized users, but the HOA controls it.

Board-role members can export the full data set at any time through the in-app export flow, and individual users can request their personal data through the data and privacy page. See our Privacy Policy for the details.

When an HOA enables online dues collection through Stripe, SpotHOA charges a 1% platform fee on each successful payment. By default, this fee is added to the amount the homeowner pays at checkout (alongside Stripe's own processing fees). Boards can choose to absorb the fees instead through the billing settings.

Homeowners see a clear itemization at checkout: the dues amount, the Stripe processing fee (typically 2.9% + $0.30 for cards, lower for ACH), and the 1% SpotHOA platform fee. No hidden fees.

Dues collection is powered by Stripe Connect. When an HOA connects a Stripe account, it also agrees to Stripe's own Connected Account Agreement and Services Agreement. Stripe handles payouts directly to the HOA's bank account; SpotHOA never holds your money.

SpotHOA is operated from Texas. Where Texas state or local sales tax applies to the platform fee or the Pro plan subscription (Texas Tax Code §151 covers data-processing and SaaS-style services), the tax is computed and charged at the point of payment by our payment processor, Stripe. The Stripe-issued receipt for each transaction is the official record of any tax charged and remitted; SpotHOA does not issue separate tax-line invoices.

If you are tax-exempt (homeowners associations are not categorically exempt under Texas law, but some incorporated nonprofits qualify), email legal@spothoa.com with your exemption certificate before your first paid transaction and we will route your account accordingly.

Outside Texas, sales-tax handling depends on the customer's state and local rules. We will charge tax where Stripe reports the obligation; otherwise the customer is responsible for self-assessing any use tax in their jurisdiction. This section is not tax advice — boards with questions should consult their own accountant.

SpotHOA offers two plans: Free (up to 50 active units) and Pro ($29 per HOA, per month) for unlimited units plus features like AI-drafted paperwork and state compliance packs. Full details live on the pricing page.

Pro is billed monthly in advance, one card on file, no contract, no annual commitment. Cancel anytime from the dashboard and the plan drops to Free at the end of the current period.

We don't offer prorated refunds for partial months. If you believe you've been billed in error, email us at legal@spothoa.com within 60 days of the charge and we'll look into it.

Either side can end the relationship. The HOA can cancel Pro or delete the HOA record from the settings. We can suspend an account that violates these terms, the Acceptable Use Policy, or applicable law — we try to warn you first when it's safe to do so.

Retention defaults that mirror what the product actually does:

• Documents: deleted documents enter a 30-day soft-delete window and can be restored from within the document vault. After 30 days, they are permanently removed from R2 storage.
• Account deletion: when you delete your personal SpotHOA account it enters a 14-day grace period. Sign in during that window to cancel. After 14 days, personal fields (name, email, phone) are scrubbed and audit-log entries you authored show “Deleted user” in place of your name.
• HOA data after cancellation: if an HOA cancels Pro but stays on Free, nothing happens to the data. If an HOA deletes itself, data is removed within 30 days except for accounting records we are legally required to retain.

Some features (meeting minutes summaries, violation letter drafts, dues reminder wording) use generative AI. These features are opt-in — a board admin has to click “Generate” for the model to run.

AI output is a starting draft, not finished content. You are responsible for reviewing and editing anything the AI produces before you send it to members or file it as an official record. Don't rely on AI-drafted text as legal advice or as a substitute for counsel review.

We send the minimum necessary context to the model and don't allow it to train on your HOA's data. See the Privacy Policy for the list of AI subprocessors.

SpotHOA is provided “as is” and “as available”. We make no warranties, express or implied, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.

We don't warrant that the service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that it will meet every specific need. Statutory warranty rights that can't be disclaimed under Texas law still apply to you.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, SpotHOA is not liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or exemplary damages — including lost profits, loss of goodwill, or data loss — arising from or related to your use of the service.

Our total cumulative liability to you for any claim arising from the service is capped at the greater of (a) the fees you paid to SpotHOA in the twelve months before the event that gave rise to the claim, or (b) $100.

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules. Federal law applies where it preempts state law.

Before filing a formal claim, email us at legal@spothoa.com with a description of the dispute. We'll try to resolve it informally within 30 days.

If informal resolution fails, disputes arising out of these terms will be resolved by binding arbitration administered in Dallas County, Texas, under the rules of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) — except that either party may bring an individual claim in small-claims court.

You can opt out of arbitration within 30 days of creating your SpotHOA account by emailing legal@spothoa.com with the subject line “Arbitration opt-out” and the email address tied to your account. If you opt out, disputes go to court in Dallas County, Texas, instead.

No class actions. You agree that disputes will be resolved individually and not as part of a class, consolidated, or representative action.

We'll update this page when terms change. For material changes we'll also email the primary contact of each HOA at least 14 days before the change takes effect. Continued use of SpotHOA after a change means you accept the updated terms. If you don't accept, cancel your account from the settings before the effective date.

For legal notices and questions about these terms:

• Email: legal@spothoa.com
• Mail: SpotHOA, P.O. Box 140572, Dallas, TX 75214