Protest & ARB Representation

Challenging Your Appraised Value

Every year your county appraisal district assigns a value to your property, and that value is what your tax rate gets applied to. You cannot argue the rate — taxing units set that. You can argue the value, and for most commercial assets that is where the money is. A protest is the formal way to make that argument. We handle it end to end: reviewing the notice, filing before the deadline, assembling the evidence, meeting informally with the district's appraiser to try to settle it, and presenting the case to the Appraisal Review Board if that conference doesn't resolve it. You do not need to attend. We appear on your behalf. 
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What Goes Into the Evidence

A protest is only as strong as the file behind it. Before we argue a value, we build the record the district will be responding to.
  • Income and expense schedules
  • Rent roll, occupancy, and lease-up status
  • Comparable sales and comparable assessments
  • Condition, deferred maintenance, and capital spend
Two grounds are available in a Texas protest: that the value is above market, and that the property is appraised unequally compared with similar properties. For commercial assets the unequal appraisal argument is frequently the stronger of the two, and it is one owners rarely raise on their own. We preserve both. The filing deadline is generally May 15, or 30 days after the district delivers your notice of appraised value, whichever is later. Miss it and the value stands for the year. We work on a contingent fee, so there is no upfront cost to have us look at an assessment and tell you whether it is worth challenging — and if it isn't, we will say so.

Need Assistance?

Send us the property and we will take a look.
Call Us
214.919.8700
E-mail Us
info@estesbanks.com
Office Address
2323 Bryan Street Ste. 2100
Dallas, Texas 75201
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6 Steps in a Protest

The sequence is the same across Texas, though every appraisal district runs it a little differently — different evidence standards, different informal practices, different calendars.

Review the Protest

We test the district's value against income, sales, and cost evidence for the asset.

File the Protest

Filed before the deadline, preserving every ground worth raising.

Build the Evidence

Financials, comparables, condition documentation, and photographs.

Informal Conference

Before any hearing, we sit down with the district's appraiser to try to settle the value. No panel, no testimony — just the two sides comparing evidence. A large share of protests end here.

Appraisal Review Board hearing

If the conference doesn't settle it, we present the case to the ARB — a citizen panel that hears both sides and sets the value.

Read the Written Order

The board mails its decision. We tell you whether that number is defensible or worth appealing further.