How text messaging consent is collected

1. The opt-in methods

A homeowner can opt in to LeadBuoy text messages in two ways, and in both cases the homeowner performs the opt-in themselves. Nothing an agent does on their behalf counts as consent.

1. Consent form. The homeowner completes a form on a page the agent has sent them, enters their own mobile number, and ticks an unchecked consent box. Documented in full in section 2.
2. Reply with a keyword. The homeowner sends an opt-in keyword by text to the agent's LeadBuoy messaging number and receives a confirmation reply. Documented in section 6.

Both are reached the same way. A licensed agent makes first contact through a channel that does not require consent — a telephone call, an email, a postcard, or in person. Those are the only permitted forms of first contact, and they are set out in section 5 of the Terms of Service. If the homeowner wants to continue by text, the agent gives them the consent-form link or the keyword during that conversation.

Whichever route is used, LeadBuoy records the consent and sends one confirmation message. Until that record exists, the Text control in the product stays disabled and the backend refuses the send. There is no route around it.

2. The consent form

This is the form a homeowner completes, reproduced here so the consent wording can be read in full. The agent name and brokerage shown are an example; the live form carries the name and brokerage of the agent who sent it.

The consent wording, verbatim

3. What is recorded

For every opt-in LeadBuoy stores the evidence of it:

• The exact consent wording that was displayed, as shown above.
• The date and time consent was given.
• The channel it was given through, and the page it was given on.
• The mobile number it applies to, and the agent and brokerage it authorizes.

An equivalent record is kept when consent is withdrawn. These records exist so that we can show why a message was permitted and honor a withdrawal, and they are not used for any other purpose. See section 6 of the Privacy Policy.

4. Sample messages

Every message identifies the sending agent, their brokerage, and LeadBuoy as the platform. The examples below use the same illustrative agent as the form above.

5. What is never consent

LeadBuoy surfaces homeowners from public records, and appends contact details from licensed providers. None of that is consent to receive text messages, and it is never treated as consent. Specifically, a telephone number is not consent when it is:

• Listed in a court filing, a recorded instrument, a tax roll, or any other public record.
• Appended to a lead by a licensed contact-data provider.
• Given to the agent for a different purpose, including a purpose agreed during a call.
• Transferred, bought, or inherited from another agent, brokerage, or list.

Consent is never bought, sold, or transferred between agents or brokerages. An opt-in authorizes one agent at one brokerage, and does not carry to anyone else.

6. Keyword opt-in

A homeowner may also opt in by replying to their agent with an opt-in keyword. This is a production opt-in path, described here in full so it can be verified before it carries traffic.

The keyword

The opt-in keyword is HOME. A homeowner sends it by text to the LeadBuoy messaging number belonging to their agent's brokerage, after that agent has given them the keyword during a call, an email, a postcard, or an in-person conversation.

There is no single national number to publish here, and that is deliberate. LeadBuoy assigns a separate messaging number to each brokerage, so that one number never presents more than one brokerage — the requirement set out in sender identity. The number a homeowner texts is the one their own agent gives them, and it is the number registered against that brokerage's messaging campaign.

How the keyword is presented

An agent gives the keyword using the wording below, whether spoken on a call, printed on a postcard, or written in an email. The disclosures are carried at the point the keyword is offered, not only in the reply, so a homeowner has them before they send anything.

The confirmation reply

Sending the keyword produces one automatic confirmation. Nothing further is sent unless the homeowner continues the conversation.

What is recorded

A keyword opt-in is recorded exactly as a form opt-in is: the keyword received, the date and time, the number it came from, and the agent and brokerage it authorizes. See section 3.

7. Stopping messages

Reply STOP at any time. STOP, END, QUIT, CANCEL, and UNSUBSCRIBE are all honored. The opt-out takes effect immediately for that number, across every campaign and every agent in the sending account, and cannot be lifted at an agent's request. You will receive one final confirmation that messaging has ended.

Reply HELP for the sending agent's name, their brokerage, and a support contact, or write to support@leadbuoy.com.

To stop every channel and not only text messages, write to compliance@leadbuoy.com and ask to be suppressed.

Full terms: text messaging terms · Privacy Policy · Terms of Service