How It Works
ValueAppeal evaluates your property and guides you through a simple 3 step process to create a custom property tax appeal report. The process takes as little as 10 minutes!
DID YOU KNOW?
If the assessment date for your home is January 1st of each year, you may only use comps that sold BEFORE January 1st in an appeal.
THE PROBLEM: PROPERTY OWNERS OVERPAY ON PROPERTY TAXES
Property taxes are expensive, and with the fall in housing prices across the nation, your taxes are more likely than ever to have been assessed unfairly in relation to other homes in your area. That can add up to hundreds and thousands of dollars in overpayment each year–and the problem is, most people won't see a refund unless they speak up. Filing an appeal with your local tax authority used to be an opaque, expensive and time-consuming process–until now.
THE SOLUTION: VALUEAPPEAL
ValueAppeal saves property owners thousands by evaluating their property taxes and then guiding them through a simple 3-step process to create a custom appeal. The key to our process is our proprietary Assessment Analyzer.
FREE ASSESSMENT ANALYZER
Enter your address in our free Assessment Analyzer. Using the same official data the assessor uses, ValueAppeal's proprietary algorithms dig deep to determine if your home is over-assessed and how much you can save on property taxes!
CREATE YOUR REPORT IN 3 SIMPLE STEPS
Your custom ValueAppeal Report is made up of 3 unique arguments. Each argument supports the appeal of your property tax assessment from a slightly different angle.
ARGUMENT #1:
Comparable Sales
Our comp selector tool helps you find 4-5 comparable homes near to yours that sold prior to the assessment date for less than your property is assessed.
ARGUMENT #2:
Unequal Assessment
ValueAppeal presents 10 homes in your neighborhood that are comparable to your property, but are assessed for less than your home is assessed.
ARGUMENT #3:
Additional Information
ValueAppeal prompts you to answer questions so you may provide details on additional factors that may reduce the value of your home. (Example: Leaking roof, cracked foundation, erosion problems, drainage problems, etc).
The appeal process has a lot of fine print that can be difficult to understand. Lucky for you, ValueAppeal streamlines the process to make it easy!
WHAT YOU GET
| Comp Selector Tool |
Select the only best comps to prove your case. We automatically filter out comps that will be disqualified |
| ValueAppeal Report |
Create a custom appeal report in minutes. Just print it out and drop it into mail to your assessor |
| Comparative Analysis Tool |
Analyze the assessor’s comps to demonstrate they unfairly support a higher assessed value. Read more... |
| My Account |
Login to manage your account, finish an appeal, begin a new appeal, etc. |
| Assessment Monitor |
Enroll in our assessment monitor program to be alerted if your home is over-assessed next year |
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER I SEND IN THE APPEAL?
The assessment appeal process will vary depending on which county you live in, but generally the process will go something like this. (Please refer to our county specific FAQ’s for a more detailed description of the appeal process in your county):
1. Informal Review:
Usually, you will receive a phone call in which the assessor's representative will attempt to settle your appeal without a formal appeal board hearing. You will discuss the information ValueAppeal has provided you with over the phone and attempt to come to an agreement for a lower value. For instance, you may have asked for a $100,000 reduction in your assessed value, and the county offers a $50,000 reduction, and you agree on $75,000.
This informal process is called "stipulating" a lower value. Because there are so many over-assessed homes these days, the Appeal Board (aka the Board of Equalization) has more formal hearings than they can handle. Therefore, the representative is often incentivized to settle with you in your informal review conversation. ValueAppeal has given you a strong case so don't let them talk you out of the full amount savings you're due.
2. Formal Review
If the informal review process is unsuccessful, you will receive a notice in the mail with your hearing date for you to present your case to a property tax appeals board. Do not be intimidated! Most counties do not require you to attend your appeal hearing. However, we STRONGLY recommend you attend your hearing which usually only lasts 15 to 20 minutes. If you don’t attend your hearing you are at a great disadvantage in winning your case. During the hearing your job is to point out all of the reasons why the ValueAppeal comps you submitted with your appeal form are better than the comps the assessor uses to support their case. How do you do this?
ValueAppeal Comparative Analysis Tool
Prior to the appeal hearing, most county assessors will mail the homeowner a list of the four to five comps that the assessor will present during the appeal hearing to support their original assessment. The homeowner's job during the appeal hearing is to explain why their comps (which they obtained from ValueAppeal) are better than the comps the assessor presents. How do you do this?
When you receive the letter in the mail from the assessor listing their comps which support their higher assessed value, login to your My Account page on the ValueAppeal.com website. Click on the button the button that says Comparative Analysis and enter the parcel IDs, or street addresses, of the comps the assessor is planning on presenting during the hearing. ValueAppeal's Comparative Analysis Tool will instantly analyze the assessor’s comps and point out all of the reasons their comps are not similar to yours and unfairly support a higher value.
For instance, let's say your home has three bedrooms, two bathrooms and is assessed for about $400,000, and the assessor presents four comps that have five bedrooms, three bathrooms and that each sold for about $500,000. Our Comparative Analysis tool will point out that the assessor's comps are not similar enough to yours and therefore, unfairly support a higher assessed value.
