Protesting Property Taxes, Part 3 — Arbitration

If you are unsuccessful in your ARB protest, the next step in the appeals process is to request Arbitration from the State Comptroller’s office.  For some folks, just the word arbitration brings negativity and fear. Don’t worry. We are here to assure you arbitration is not difficult.

In 2015-2019, I (Mark) went through the arbitration. I have discovered that the arbitrators are very skilled and unbiased in their approach to arrive a fair conclusion.  Unlike the ARB, arbitrators were engaged and actually listened to my evidence and reasoning.

There are many property tax consulting firms out there offering to assist in this effort—mostly on a contingency fee basis.  I’ve had minimal success using the consultant approach in the past. Actually, the success was directly proportional to the time and information I had to supply them.  In truth, having a consulting firm in place is better than not protesting. However, I’m of the opinion these firms do not provide the level of care and attention to detail to your property that you can do readily for yourself.

In the property tax environment here in Texas, we must constantly fight to keep our home overhead down.  As a result, having a regimen of annual protest of your property values is the only way to keep tax monster at bay.

The bottom line is this:  File your protest today and save big-this year and for years to come!

If you want help with understanding property taxes and other topics that affect your financial well-being, visit our website and sign up for a free 15-minute call or a two-hour Financial Health Assessment.  We are here to help!