| Information Policies We place a high value upon the trust that you place in us when
applying for a loan. We promise not to abuse that trust by
inappropriately using the information you provide to us. We request
this information in order to provide you with the most comprehensive
and accurate data possible. We will not sell or give away your
private information to any third party.
The information you provide will be used in the following ways.
Loan Application Information
Unless you are a government agent who must go through security
clearance and background checks, a loan application is probably the
most detailed information-gathering process that you will encounter
as an ordinary citizen. As a mortgage company, we are aware of the
concerns you may have during this process. We will protect the
sanctity of your trust by using your loan application information
only and exclusively for the purpose of obtaining a mortgage.
Contact Information and Personal Details
In addition to information used exclusively to submit your loan
application, we ask for certain details, such as email addresses and
personal details including whether you are a first-time mortgage
buyer and whether you rent or own. We use this information to
customize and personalize our site to meet your needs. None of this
information is ever disclosed to third parties. Instead, we use this
information to present information specific to your situation to
better educate you about the opportunities that exist specifically
for you.
When Applying With Us
A secure electronic application is provided
for your convenience. Your
information will be encrypted before being transmitted.
Completing the application does not obligate you to proceed. There
is absolutely no cost to apply.
In accordance with
The Privacy of Consumer Financial Information Act,
we understands that any information given by the customer for
mortgage purposes will be used only for loan approval. Any personal
information given on this web site will not be re-distributed or
sold in any manner whatsoever. Your personal
information is secure and confidential and will only be used in
connection with your loan request. We never sell, rent, share or
provide your personal information to outside parties for any
marketing purpose. We are committed to protecting your privacy. You
may withdraw your loan request at any time. Once we receive your
electronic application, a loan officer will contact you to review
your application. We will not begin processing your application
without your express permission. You must speak directly with your
loan officer to "lock-in" an interest rate and authorize the
processing of your loan. This policy is for your benefit and
satisfaction.
This is a Secure Web Site
This Web site provides secure
communication and has a valid certificate. Secure communication
means that information you provide, such as your name, social
security number, or credit-card number, is encrypted so that it
can’t be read or intercepted by other people.
The certificate is a statement
guaranteeing the security of this Web site. A certificate contains
information that a specific Web site is authentic. This ensures that
no other site can assume the identity of the original site.
When you enter a secure Web site, both Internet Explorer and
Netscape display a dialog box and a lock icon on the status bar.
When you leave a secure web site, Internet Explorer displays a
dialog box to notify you. If you want to see this dialog box
whenever you have entered a secure Web site, make sure the check box
named In the future, do not show this warning is clear.
You can verify a secure site
by "right-clicking" your mouse, selecting "properties", then viewing
the "Connection Field".
Where We Lend
We are both Bankers and Brokers,
which gives our customers the best of both worlds. We therefore
officially lend under two different names. As Great Rivers Mortgage,
we lend for properties located only in Minnesota. As Mortgages
Unlimited, we lend for properties located in Minnesota, Wisconsin,
and Florida.
Service Profiles
At the same time, there are many commonalities among our
customers. We will occasionally compile statistics and other metrics
across our customer base, but none of this information will contain
personally sensitive information. For example, we may decide to
build a new section on our Web site exclusively for current renters
if our customer profile shows that 75% of our typical users are
currently renting. In any case, none of your personal information is
associated with these metrics.
We may share this generic service profile information with our
partners, affiliates, and potential investors in order to describe
our client base to better serve you. Having access to this data
means that we can make better decisions about how we run our
business, and will help us determine what will best serve you, our
valued customers.
Office Security
Our privacy policies are unimportant if we cannot maintain the
security of our systems. All of our sensitive information forms are
submitted and stored securely using tried and proven industry
standard protocols. Documents in our office are accessible only to
those with a need to know.
While no security system is 100% airtight (you should be wary of
anyone making that claim) we have taken every reasonable, prudent,
and effective step to maintain the security of our systems. We are
GBL Compliant.
Data Communications Security
Information you send us must pass through your own computer, your
own Internet Service Provider, our Internet Provider, and eventually
to us.
As soon as the personal information that you have put into your
browser leaves your computer, it is encrypted using "SSL" (Secure
Sockets Layer) technology. Any network between you and us, including
your ISP and our ISP, will only see garbled encrypted data if they
were to "eavesdrop" on our connection. Netscape Navigator and
Internet Explorer indicate that the transfer is secure via two
mechanisms. First, the URL on any secured page will begin with
https:// rather than http://. Secondly, the browser may display a
lock, a blue bar, or other indicator showing that your data will be
encrypted prior to transmission.
Once we receive your encrypted information, our system decrypts
your data, and places it into a password-protected database on a
secured network that is again accessed through another
password-protected system, located behind a firewall. This triple
protection is the digital equivalent of our "Fort Knox" that
protects your sensitive data. The only other way to get at this
information is to use our Web site and the administration password
that you supply during the account creation process. This is why you
should keep this password in a safe place, and why we only send your
password to your e-mail address. However, as soon as we send your
password in e-mail, you should immediately log in and change your
password to prevent someone on the Internet from obtaining your
password, and hence, access to your private information.
How we use Cookies
It is our goal to provide the most intuitive and hassle-free
experience at our Web site. As a result, we use a technology called
a "cookie." The way a cookie functions is that our Web site, after
authenticating who you are by having you verify your e-mail address
and password, passes a unique cookie to your computer. Once your
computer obtains this cookie, it will present this cookie back to
us. Our site checks to see if the cookie that you are presenting to
us matches what we initially gave you. If it does, then we allow you
access to our site without having to re-enter your username. This
cookie only exists while the browser is running. It is always a good
idea to quit the browser (or restart the computer) if you share your
computer with others.
We may also use cookies to help keep track of the
Great Rivers Mortgage representative you are working with (if any). This cookie
contains no private information, and will remain on your computer
even if you quit the browser.
The Good Cookie.
Like any technology, the use of it determines its value. Cookies
are a convenient way to avoid having to type in your login every
time you visit the site. What the above scenario allows is the
ability of our Web site's "cyber bouncer" to be able to say, "I've
seen you before, you can come in." This is a convenience that many
of our clients use and appreciate.
The Bad Cookie.
However, there are cases when you may not want to use a cookie.
For example, if multiple people use your computer, it is possible
for someone to sit down after you have gotten up, visit your history
or bookmarks, visit our site, and have access to your sensitive data
on our Web site. This is because our "cyber bouncer" is only
sophisticated enough to know that your computer has been trusted.
There is no way for us to determine that you are still at your
computer. The best thing you can do is quit the browser when you are
finished; the cookie will be removed.
P3P Compliance
This website is complies with the Platform for Privacy
Preferences Specification (P3P 1.0).
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