Who we are, and what happens to your information

The two questions everyone should ask before trusting a website with their move. Here are straight answers.

Who is behind HouseChapter?

HouseChapter is built and run by Claire Duffield, trading as Folio Ventures, from Whitstable in Kent. It's an independent product, not owned by an estate agency, a portal, a lender or anyone else with a stake in what you buy. You can write to us at 4 Borstal Hill, Whitstable, CT5 4LX, or email hello@housechapter.co.uk and a human will answer.

Why does it exist?

Because moving home in the UK is a five-month process that nobody explains, run over email by strangers, where sales collapse regularly and every collapse costs the people involved real money in wasted fees. Portals help you find a house and then leave you alone for the hardest part. HouseChapter was built to be the companion for everything that happens after the search: the tracking, the chasing, the jargon, the admin, and then the years of actually running the home.

Where does my information live?

Your account data and documents are stored in the United Kingdom (London, on AWS infrastructure via our database provider, Supabase). Every record is protected by row-level security, which means the database itself refuses to show your data to anyone but your signed-in account. Documents live in a private vault, are served only through short-lived signed links, and are fingerprinted on upload so you can prove they haven't been altered. We never sell your data. The privacy policy covers the rest in plain English.

What happens to my documents if HouseChapter closes?

Everything you add to HouseChapter (documents, photos, snag lists, moodboards, history) stays readable, downloadable and exportable on the free plan, forever. Paying unlocks what HouseChapter does next, never access to what's already yours. If we ever closed, you'd get your documents out first.

Practically, that means: your documents are always downloadable from the vault, one by one or all at once, and if the service were ever to shut down you would get clear notice and time to export everything before anything was deleted. Your originals should always live with you anyway; the vault is your organised, verifiable copy.

Is the advice regulated?

No, and we're careful about that line. HouseChapter organises information and points you at official data; it doesn't replace your conveyancer, broker or surveyor, and it never will. Where a decision needs a professional, the product says so.

How is it funded?

Simply and publicly: one payment of £39 for the whole move and the first six months after you complete, and a commission from some comparison partners when you choose to use them (never affecting the price you pay, always labelled). Nothing renews and there is no subscription. The checks, calculators and core journey tools are free forever, and renters never pay. No advertising, no selling your attention, and no selling your data. See what's in each plan and exactly how we make money.