Terms and conditions

​The following terms and conditions govern all use of the https://www.startabroad.com website and all content, services and products available at or through the website, including, but not limited to, associated blogs, forums, and websites, taken together, the Website.

The Website is owned and operated by StartAbroad LLC. The Website is offered subject to your acceptance without modification of all of the terms and conditions contained herein and all other operating rules, policies (including, without limitation, StartAbroad’s Privacy Policy) and procedures that may be published from time to time on this Site by StartAbroad (collectively, the “Agreement”). 

​Please read this Agreement carefully before accessing or using the Website. By visiting the Website and/or purchasing something from StartAbroad LLC, you engage in our Service and agree to be bound by the following terms and conditions and policies referenced herein and/or available by hyperlink. These Terms and Conditions apply to all users of the site, including without limitation users who are browsers, customers, vendors, merchants, and/or contributors of content. If you do not agree to all the terms and conditions of this agreement, then you may not access the Website or use any services. If these terms and conditions are considered an offer by StartAbroad, acceptance is expressly limited to these terms. The Website is available only to individuals who are at least 13 years old.

Section 1 – General Conditions. We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason at any time. 

You agree not to reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or exploit any portion of the Service, use of the Service, or access to the Service or any contact on the website through which the service is provided, without express written permission by us.

You may not use our products or services for any illegal or unauthorized purpose, nor may you, in the use of the Service, violate any laws in your jurisdiction.  

Section 2 – Modifications to the Service and Prices. Prices for our products are subject to change without notice. We reserve the right at any time to modify or discontinue the Service (or any part or content thereof) without notice at any time. We shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, price change, suspension or discontinuation of Services.

Section 3 – Products or Services. Certain products or services may be available exclusively online through the website. We reserve the right, but are not obligated, to limit the sales of our products or Service to any person, geographic location or jurisdiction. We may exercise this right on a case-by-case basis. We reserve the right to limit the quantities of any products or services that we offer. All descriptions of products or product pricing are subject to change at any time without notice. We do not warrant that the quality of any products, services, information, or other material purchased or obtained by you will meet your expectations, or that any errors in the Service will be corrected.

Individual product and service terms are as follows:

Car Purchase Support:

• Mechanical inspections of used cars included are roadside inspections only. Our mechanic will get under the car, but given the mobile nature of our inspections, we are unable to lift cars for a thorough examination of all systems. 
• The decision to purchase a vehicle is made by the Client alone. StartAbroad has no responsibility for the condition of any vehicle purchased by the Client, pre- or post-purchase. 
• Requirements for the car search must be determined by the client in advance. Any changes in requirements must be communicated to StartAbroad at least three weeks prior to planned car purchase date or at least two weeks prior to planned car showings. Changes communicated after these deadlines are unlikely to be honored.
• StartAbroad will find and share up to forty used car listings as part of this service. Any additional listings requested will come at additional cost, which is subject to change and is determined at StartAbroad’s sole discretion. 
• StartAbroad offers up to four accompanied car inspections, as described above, as part of this service. Any additional inspections requested will come at additional cost, which is subject to change and is determined at StartAbroad’s sole discretion.
• StartAbroad requires at least five weeks to provide this service. Should a Client need to finalize the purchase process in less than five weeks, StartAbroad will charge an additional $200 (two hundred U.S. dollars). 
• The Car Purchase Support service is only available in the Central Valley region of Costa Rica. It is not available in other regions of the country, and is not available in other countries.
• The Car Purchase Support service includes a connection to a recommended local, bilingual attorney, who will bill for their legal services separately. It is not required that the Client use this attorney’s services, and StartAbroad is happy to coordinate the legal purchase process through a different local attorney. In no case is StartAbroad responsible or liable for any action or inaction of any attorney. 
• The purchase of a car, motorcycle, or other vehicle is solely between the Client and the seller of said vehicle. StartAbroad takes no responsibility for the contract between Client and seller or any of its terms, including but not limited to price, condition of the vehicle, deposit amount, or deposit terms.

Rental Search/Housing Rental Search:

• StartAbroad offers up to three accompanied rental showings OR three video walkthroughs as part of this service. Any additional showings or walkthroughs will come at an additional cost of $175 per showing/walkthrough.
• StartAbroad will find and share up to fifty rental listings as part of this service. Any additional listings requested will come at additional cost, which is subject to change and is determined at StartAbroad’s sole discretion. 
• Requirements for the rental search must be determined by the client in advance. Any changes in requirements must be communicated to StartAbroad at least three weeks prior to planned apartment showings. Changes communicated after this deadline are unlikely to be honored. 
• The Rental Search service includes a legal review of the property’s lease. It is the Client’s responsibility to read this review and request any desired changes to the lease. StartAbroad will not negotiate a lease without the Client’s clear direction on what they would like to negotiate for or about. 
• The decision to rent a property is made by the Client alone. StartAbroad has no responsibility for the condition or location of a property rented by the Client. Neither does StartAbroad have responsibility over actions or inactions of a landlord, security concerns related to the rented property, changes in rent or deposit, failure to return deposit, or other issues that arise after the lease is signed.
• StartAbroad requires at least five weeks to provide this service. Should a Client need to sign a lease in less than five weeks, StartAbroad will charge an additional rush fee. 

Visa Application Support:

• StartAbroad cannot guarantee that any government, consulate, or agency approves a Client’s visa application. As much as possible, StartAbroad will provide honest advice as to the likelihood of approval prior to starting the application process.
• StartAbroad cannot guarantee any timeline for application review by any government, consulate, or agency. We will provide an estimate based on recent application timelines, but this is always subject to change.
• It can be challenging to secure government appointments as part of the visa process and StartAbroad cannot guarantee the ability to make appointments within any particular timeframe. In particular, in Portugal appointments with local consulates, VFS Global, and AIMA may take longer than anticipated. In Costa Rica, Step 4 in-person appointments may not be able to be scheduled at a Client’s preferred time. 
• Should a client’s visa application be denied, StartAbroad does not provide any refund. 
• Should a client decide they prefer not to use StartAbroad’s visa service, we are happy to issue a full refund within 7 days of purchase. 

Medical Planning + Health Insurance Support:

• StartAbroad may make recommendations for doctors, medical facilities, medical concierge services, health insurance providers, and other medical services. In no case does StartAbroad take any responsibility for the action or inaction of any medical provider or service. The decision to engage any medical provider or service is made by the Client alone.

Day-Of-Arrival Support: StartAbroad contracts independent drivers and transport companies for airport pickup services and other transport needs. StartAbroad is not responsible for any accident or issue with these drivers and transport companies. Neither are we responsible for any lost or damaged luggage. 

Pet Relocation: StartAbroad is not liable for health complications that the pet may suffer during the trip due to natural or animal physiological causes.

Section 4 – Suppliers and Partners. In the case of services provided by StartAbroad Partners and Suppliers, such as real estate agents, tax accountants, customs agents, shipping companies, vehicle mechanics, and more, it is noted that StartAbroad acts as agent for the Client in sourcing the products and/or goods and accordingly any contract of purchase will be entered into between the Client and the relevant Supplier/Partner, unless otherwise specified. 

Clients acknowledge and agree that products and/or goods may be purchased at a value higher than face value subject to such higher value being approved by the Client in advance. Where a Client requests the Company to purchase certain products and/or goods on his behalf, the Company will invoice the Client for all products/goods purchased for the Client and any other reasonable fees incurred in the purchasing of such goods for or on behalf of the Client. Clients will be notified of such fees at the time the request is approved by StartAbroad.

Section 5 – Responsibility of Contributors to Website. If you operate a blog, comment on a blog, post material to the Website, post links on the Website, or otherwise make (or allow any third party to make) material available by means of the Website (any such material, “Content”), You are entirely responsible for the content of, and any harm resulting from, that Content. That is the case regardless of whether the Content in question constitutes text, graphics, an audio file, or computer software. By making Content available, you represent and warrant that:

• the downloading, copying and use of the Content will not infringe the proprietary rights, including but not limited to the copyright, patent, trademark or trade secret rights, of any third party;
• if your employer has rights to intellectual property you create, you have either (i) received permission from your employer to post or make available the Content, including but not limited to any software, or (ii) secured from your employer a waiver as to all rights in or to the Content;
• you have fully complied with any third-party licenses relating to the Content, and have done all things necessary to successfully pass through to end users any required terms;
• the Content does not contain or install any viruses, worms, malware, Trojan horses or other harmful or destructive content;
• the Content is not spam, is not machine- or randomly-generated, and does not contain unethical or unwanted commercial content designed to drive traffic to third party sites or boost the search engine rankings of third party sites, or to further unlawful acts (such as phishing) or mislead recipients as to the source of the material (such as spoofing);
• the Content is not libelous or defamatory (more info on what that means), does not contain threats or incite violence towards individuals or entities, and does not violate the privacy or publicity rights of any third party;
• your Content is not getting advertised via unwanted electronic messages such as spam links on newsgroups, email lists, other blogs and web sites, and similar unsolicited promotional methods;
• your Content is not named in a manner that misleads your readers into thinking that you are another person or company. For example, your blog or comment’s URL or name is not the name of a person other than yourself or company other than your own; and
• you have, in the case of Content that includes computer code, accurately categorized and/or described the type, nature, uses and effects of the materials, whether requested to do so by StartAbroad or otherwise.
• Without limiting any of those representations or warranties, StartAbroad has the right (though not the obligation) to, in StartAbroad’s sole discretion (i) refuse or remove any content that, in StartAbroad’s reasonable opinion, violates any StartAbroad policy or is in any way harmful or objectionable, or (ii) terminate or deny access to and use of the Website to any individual or entity for any reason, in StartAbroad’s sole discretion.

Section 6 – Responsibility of Website Visitors. StartAbroad has not reviewed, and cannot review, all of the material, including computer software, posted to the Website, and cannot therefore be responsible for that material’s content, use or effects. By operating the Website, StartAbroad does not represent or imply that it endorses the material there posted, or that it believes such material to be accurate, useful or non-harmful. You are responsible for taking precautions as necessary to protect yourself and your computer systems from viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and other harmful or destructive content. The Website may contain content that is offensive, indecent, or otherwise objectionable, as well as content containing technical inaccuracies, typographical mistakes, and other errors. The Website may also contain material that violates the privacy or publicity rights, or infringes the intellectual property and other proprietary rights, of third parties, or the downloading, copying or use of which is subject to additional terms and conditions, stated or unstated. StartAbroad disclaims any responsibility for any harm resulting from the use by visitors of the Website, or from any downloading by those visitors of content there posted.

Section 7 – Content Posted on Other Websites. We have not reviewed, and cannot review, all of the material, including computer software, made available through the websites. StartAbroad does not have any control over those non-startabroad.com websites and webpages, and is not responsible for their contents or their use. By linking to a non-startabroad.com website or webpage, StartAbroad does not represent or imply that it endorses such website or webpage. You are responsible for taking precautions as necessary to protect yourself and your computer systems from viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and other harmful or destructive content. StartAbroad disclaims any responsibility for any harm resulting from your use of non-startabroad.com websites and webpages.

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Section 8 – Copyright Infringement and DMCA Policy. As StartAbroad asks others to respect its intellectual property rights, it respects the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that material located on or linked to by www.startabroad.com violates your copyright, you are encouraged to notify StartAbroad in accordance with standard Digital Millennium Copyright Act (”DMCA”) Policy. StartAbroad will respond to all such notices, including as required or appropriate by removing the infringing material or disabling all links to the infringing material. In the case of a visitor who may infringe or repeatedly infringes the copyrights or other intellectual property rights of StartAbroad. or others, StartAbroad may, in its discretion, terminate or deny access to and use of the Website. In the case of such termination, StartAbroad. will have no obligation to provide a refund of any amounts previously paid to StartAbroad.

Section 9 – Corrections, Suggestions, and Complaints. We welcome comments and suggestions, as well as complaints about errors, on the Website that warrant correction. Comments and suggestions, as well as complaints about errors, can be submitted via the Contact page. Readers dissatisfied with a response may reach us via email at anna [at] startabroad (dot) com.

Section 10 – Intellectual Property. This Agreement does not transfer from StartAbroad to you any StartAbroad or third party intellectual property, and all right, title and interest in and to such property will remain (as between the parties) solely with StartAbroad. StartAbroad, www.startabroad.com, the logo, and all other trademarks, service marks, graphics and logos used in connection with www.startabroad.com, or the Website are trademarks or registered trademarks of StartAbroad; or licensors of the aforementioned companies. Other trademarks, service marks, graphics and logos used in connection with the Website may be the trademarks of other third parties. Your use of the Website grants you no right or license to reproduce or otherwise use any StartAbroad or third-party trademarks. You hereby grant StartAbroad an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to (a) use, copy, publish, stream, store, retain, publicly perform or display, transmit, scan, reformat, modify, edit, frame, translate, excerpt, adapt, create derivative works and distribute (through multiple tiers), any Content you post on or in connection with the Website or StartAbroad services or the promotion thereof and (b) to use your name, likeness and image for any purpose, including commercial or advertising, each of (a) and (b) on or in connection with StartAbroad or the promotion thereof.

Section 11 – Changes. StartAbroad reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify or replace any part of this Agreement. It is your responsibility to check this Agreement periodically for changes. Your continued use of or access to the Website following the posting of any changes to this Agreement constitutes acceptance of those changes. StartAbroad may also, in the future, offer new services and/or features through the Website (including, the release of new tools and resources). Such new features and/or services shall be subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

Section 12 – Termination. StartAbroad may terminate your access to all or any part of the Website at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice, effective immediately. If you wish to terminate this Agreement, you may simply discontinue using the Website. All provisions of this Agreement which by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity and limitations of liability.

Section 13 – Disclaimer of Warranties. The Website is provided “as is”. StartAbroad and its suppliers and licensors hereby disclaim all warranties of any kind, express or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. Neither StartAbroad nor its suppliers and licensors, makes any warranty that the Website will be error free or that access thereto will be continuous or uninterrupted. You understand that you download from, or otherwise obtain content or services through, the Website at your own discretion and risk.

Section 14 – Limitation of Liability. StartAbroad will not be liable for any indirect, special, consequential or punitive damages arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions it contemplates. In no event will StartAbroad’s liability exceed the price paid by the Client for the Services. 

In no event will StartAbroad, or its suppliers or licensors, be liable with respect to any subject matter of this agreement under any contract, negligence, strict liability or other legal or equitable theory for: (i) any special, incidental or consequential damages; (ii) the cost of procurement or substitute products or services; (iii) for interruption of use or loss or corruption of data; or (iv) for any amounts that exceed the fees paid by you to StartAbroad under this agreement during the twelve (12) month period prior to the cause of action. StartAbroad shall have no liability for any failure or delay due to matters beyond their reasonable control. The foregoing shall not apply to the extent prohibited by applicable law.

Section 15 – Force Majeure. StartAbroad shall not be responsible for any claims or damage resulting from any delays in performance or for non-performance due to unforeseen circumstances or causes beyond StartAbroad’s reasonable control.

Section 16 – General Representation and Warranty. You represent and warrant that (i) your use of the Website will be in strict accordance with the StartAbroad Privacy Policy, with this Agreement and with all applicable laws and regulations (including without limitation any local laws or regulations in your country, state, city, or other governmental area, regarding online conduct and acceptable content, and including all applicable laws regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the United States or the country in which you reside) and (ii) your use of the Website will not infringe or misappropriate the intellectual property rights of any third party.

Section 17 – Refunds.  Any refunds made by StartAbroad will be exclusive of credit card transaction fees, international wiring fees, or any other fees associated with making of the payment incurred either when the initial payment was made by the client, AND/OR when StartAbroad makes the reimbursement.

Section 18 – Indemnification. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless StartAbroad, its contractors, and its licensors, and their respective directors, officers, employees and agents from and against any and all claims and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, arising out of your use of the Website, including but not limited to, out of your violation of this Agreement.

Section 19 – Miscellaneous. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between StartAbroad and you concerning the subject matter hereof, and they may only be modified by a written amendment signed by an authorized executive of StartAbroad or by the posting by StartAbroad of a revised version. Except to the extent applicable law, if any, provides otherwise, this Agreement, any access to or use of the Website will be governed by the laws of the State of Delaware,  and the proper venue for any disputes arising out of or relating to any of the same will be the courts located in the State of Delaware. Except for claims for injunctive or equitable relief or claims regarding intellectual property rights (which may be brought in any competent court without the posting of a bond), any dispute arising under this Agreement shall be finally settled in accordance with the Federal Arbitration Act. The arbitration shall take place in the State of Delaware, in the English language and the arbitral decision may be enforced in any court. The prevailing party in any action or proceeding to enforce this Agreement shall be entitled to costs and attorneys’ fees. If you prevail over StartAbroad, no fees paid to you, including attorney’s fees, may exceed what you have paid to StartAbroad in the prior 12 months. If any part of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, that part will be construed to reflect the parties’ original intent, and the remaining portions will remain in full force and effect. A waiver by either party of any term or condition of this Agreement or any breach thereof, in any one instance, will not waive such term or condition or any subsequent breach thereof. You may assign your rights under this Agreement to any party that consents to, and agrees to be bound by, its terms and conditions; StartAbroad may assign its rights under this Agreement without condition. This Agreement will be binding upon and will inure to the benefit of the parties, their successors and permitted assigns.