Trusted Partner Network — Nationwide
Our Vetted Trusted Partner Criteria
Quality over quantity. Before a business is approved for the OwningYourHouse.com Trusted Partner Network, we review its identity, credentials, applicable insurance, service history, advertising practices, and commitment to professional consumer service.
What “Vetted” Means
A documented review. Not a purchased title
A business cannot purchase approval or bypass the review standards described on this page. Advertising, sponsorship, enhanced visibility, and featured placement—when offered—are separate from eligibility for the Trusted Partner Network.
The badge indicates a completed review
At the time of approval, OwningYourHouse.com reviewed the applicant against the applicable criteria and found the applicant eligible to participate in the network. The badge is not a government certification, warranty, or guarantee of future performance.
Core Approval Standards
What every applicant must demonstrate
Requirements vary by profession and jurisdiction. Every approved applicant must satisfy the baseline standards relevant to its business.
Verifiable business identity
The applicant must provide an accurate legal or registered business name, working contact information, authorized representative, business address, website where available, services offered, and geographic markets served.
Active credentials
Licenses, registrations, appointments, certifications, or other authorizations legally required for the advertised services must be active and in good standing in each applicable jurisdiction.
Applicable insurance and bonding
The applicant must maintain coverage appropriate to its work and as required by law, licensing rules, or contract. This may include general liability, professional liability, errors and omissions, workers’ compensation, cyber coverage, or a surety bond.
Relevant service history
The applicant must demonstrate legitimate operations, relevant experience, completed work, professional references, or another reasonable record showing the ability to provide the listed service.
Truthful, supportable marketing
Credentials, prices, timelines, testimonials, incentives, savings, availability, and performance claims must be accurate, supportable, and not misleading. Material limitations and relationships must be disclosed when required.
Consumer-first conduct
Partners must communicate professionally, protect consumer information, respect lawful communication preferences, avoid harassment or pressure tactics, and provide services without unlawful discrimination.
Profession-Specific Review
Additional checks based on the service provided
A mortgage lender, contractor, title company, and photographer do not carry the same obligations. We apply criteria relevant to each category.
Mortgage lenders and mortgage brokers
- Company and individual NMLS identifiers where applicable.
- Active authority in each state the provider claims to serve.
- Required licensing and Equal Housing Opportunity disclosures.
- Truthful rate, payment, qualification, and loan-program advertising, consistent with Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z) trigger-term and APR disclosure requirements.
- No guarantee of approval, rates, savings, or incentive amounts.
- Appropriate protection of application and financial information.
Real-estate agents and brokerages
- Active real-estate license and brokerage affiliation where required.
- Authorization to advertise and operate in the stated service areas.
- Fair-housing commitment, nondiscriminatory service practices, and required Equal Housing Opportunity logo or slogan disclosures.
- Accurate listing authority, listing status, and property representations.
- Required agency, brokerage, affiliation, and material-interest disclosures.
- Compliance with applicable MLS/IDX display rules and listing-data license terms where listing data is shown.
Title, closing, escrow, and real-estate legal services
- Applicable company, agency, attorney, escrow, or producer credentials.
- Errors and omissions, fidelity, professional liability, or bonding where applicable.
- Secure procedures for wiring instructions and sensitive transaction information.
- Clear role, fee, and affiliated-business disclosures when required.
- No unlawful referral fee, kickback, fee split, or unearned fee.
Builders, contractors, remodelers, and home-service professionals
- Applicable contractor, specialty-trade, or business licenses.
- Insurance and bonding appropriate to the work performed.
- Verifiable project history, references, portfolio, or completed-work examples.
- Written scope, pricing, change-order, cancellation, and warranty practices.
- No material pattern of deceptive claims, abandoned work, or unresolved complaints identified during review.
Inspectors, appraisers, surveyors, and photographers
- Applicable professional license, registration, or certification.
- Professional liability or errors and omissions coverage where appropriate.
- Clear service scope, reporting standards, timing, and usage rights.
- Required independence and conflict-of-interest disclosures.
- Permission to use or license submitted photographs and media.
Insurance, financial, credit, and advisory professionals
- Active state licenses, registrations, appointments, or credentials.
- Clear identification of the service and professional capacity.
- Balanced advertising without guaranteed financial, credit, insurance, or investment results.
- Required compensation, conflict, product, and limitation disclosures.
- Secure handling of personal and financial information.
Property managers, movers, landscapers, and other providers
- Required business, transportation, property-management, or trade credentials.
- Insurance, bonding, vehicles, or workers’ compensation where applicable.
- Clear estimates, service terms, cancellation policies, and claim procedures.
- Verifiable service area, support process, and professional references.
- Compliance with laws applicable to the service and jurisdiction.
The Review Process
How an applicant becomes a Vetted Trusted Partner
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Application submitted
The applicant provides its business identity, services, locations, contact details, credentials, and requested supporting documents.
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Identity and credential review
Submitted information is compared with applicable business, licensing, registration, and publicly available professional records.
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Insurance and service-history review
Where applicable, we review evidence of coverage, experience, references, public feedback, disciplinary information, and material complaint patterns.
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Standards acknowledgment
The applicant agrees to network requirements concerning truthful advertising, privacy, fair housing, communications, professional conduct, and lawful compensation.
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Decision and activation
We may approve, conditionally approve, request more information, limit categories or service areas, or decline an application.
Submitting an application does not guarantee approval.
Approval also does not guarantee placement, leads, referrals, transaction
volume, income, or continued participation.
Ongoing Accountability
Approval must be maintained
Approved partners must:
- Keep credentials, insurance, contact details, and service areas current.
- Disclose material disciplinary action, suspension, revocation, lapse, or ownership change.
- Respond to consumers respectfully and within a commercially reasonable period.
- Provide accurate information about fees, credentials, timing, availability, and incentives.
- Use consumer information only for authorized purposes and protect it appropriately.
- Honor lawful opt-outs and applicable privacy requests.
- Comply with licensing, fair-housing, advertising, consumer-protection, and communication laws.
- Cooperate with reasonable quality reviews and concern investigations.
A partner may be suspended or removed for:
- False, incomplete, expired, or misleading application information.
- Loss, restriction, suspension, or undisclosed lapse of a required credential.
- A material pattern of substantiated complaints or unresolved service failures.
- Discriminatory, abusive, deceptive, coercive, or seriously unprofessional conduct.
- Unauthorized use, disclosure, resale, or insecure handling of consumer data.
- Misrepresentation of the badge or relationship with OwningYourHouse.com.
- Unlawful referral compensation, kickbacks, steering, fee splitting, or unearned fees.
- Failure to cooperate with a reasonable review or correct a material concern.
OwningYourHouse.com may request updated documentation and conduct periodic or event-driven rechecks. A partner’s status may be limited, suspended, or withdrawn when credible new information warrants review.
Know What the Badge Means
Important scope and limitations
What the badge indicates
- The business completed the applicable application and review process.
- Credentials identified during the review were checked.
- The applicant agreed to ongoing network standards.
- The partner remained eligible when its status was last reviewed.
What the badge does not guarantee
- It is not a government license, certification, or regulatory approval.
- It is not a warranty of price, quality, availability, results, or future conduct.
- It is not necessarily a full financial audit or criminal-background investigation.
- It does not verify every employee, subcontractor, statement, or transaction.
- It does not mean the partner is the lowest-cost or only suitable provider.
Consumers retain the right to shop and compare
Consumers should independently verify current credentials, compare providers, review fees and written agreements, and select the professionals they believe best fit their needs. A consumer is not required to use a provider merely because that provider appears on OwningYourHouse.com.
Network Integrity
Vetting, advertising, and referrals are separate
Approval is based on the applicable review criteria—not on whether an applicant purchases advertising or sends business to OwningYourHouse.com. Sponsored, promoted, or featured placements should be clearly labeled so consumers can distinguish advertising from neutral informational content.
OwningYourHouse.com does not intend to give or accept a fee, kickback, or other thing of value in exchange for the referral of settlement- service business, or to split charges except for services actually performed, where prohibited by the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and Regulation X. Any lawful advertising or service arrangement must be documented, actually performed, and reasonably related to the value of the goods, facilities, advertising, or services provided.
These same terms govern any paid placement, sponsorship, or advertising package offered to Trusted Partners. See the disclosure on our Trusted Partner application page for how paid marketing arrangements are structured.
Help Maintain the Standard
Have a concern about a listed partner?
Send the partner’s name, service involved, relevant dates, a clear description of what occurred, and supporting documentation where available. We may request more information and may share the substance of the concern with the partner to conduct a fair review.
OwningYourHouse.com is not a regulator, licensing authority, court, insurer, guarantor, or dispute-resolution service. Consumers should also contact the appropriate regulator, licensing board, law- enforcement agency, insurer, or attorney when circumstances warrant.
Ready to Join the Network?
Build visibility by meeting a higher standard
Professionals serving buyers, sellers, homeowners, investors, and real-estate transactions nationwide are welcome to apply.