What Happens After You Protest? Inside the Review Board’s Playbook
Read Time: 3 min
What Happens After You Protest? Inside the Review Board’s Playbook
Filing Was Step One. Now, the Real Fight Begins. Filing your protest was the easy part. What happens next determines whether you get a reduction or take the full tax hit.
This isn’t a paperwork game anymore. It’s tactical, and every step has one purpose: beat your number down.
Here’s what the appraisal district doesn’t want you to know about what happens next and how we utilize the process to our advantage.
Step 1. The Informal Meeting: Close or Be Closed The first phase is the informal meeting with the district’s appraiser. Think of it as a pressure test. They want to see if you’ve got an actual case or if you’re just whining about taxes.
Most owners blow this. They show up with Zillow screenshots or complaints about the market. The appraiser nods, marks them for denial, and moves on.
We don’t walk in with opinions. We walk in with proof.
• Hard comps
• Income analysis (if commercial)
• Cost approach breakdowns
• Legal precedent
We push them to settle, and we don’t leave until they move the number.
Step 2. The ARB Hearing: Trial Without a Judge
No deal? You go to the Appraisal Review Board (ARB), three locals trained to look impartial but fed a steady diet of district spin.
This is not a conversation. This is a hearing. Evidence gets locked in. Time is limited. And if you stumble, they shut the door fast.
Most property owners lose here because they:
• Ramble without strategy
• Don’t rebut the appraisal district’s claims
• Fail to anchor their case in the tax code
We script the narrative, eliminate weak competitors, box the district in with its own data, and exploit any gaps in its model. You don’t want a fair fight. You want an advantage. We give you that.
Step 3. The Decision: Why You May Not Understand It
ARB decisions are typically released the same day, often within hours.
They’ll give you a number and no breakdown. No logic. No explanation.
You either accept it, or you appeal.
We audit the board’s decision's line by line. If they misapply the law, ignore evidence, or lean too heavily on district numbers, we catch it and push back.
Step 4: The Appeal — Not for Rookies If the board’s still wrong, you escalate. Either:
• Binding Arbitration (fast, cost-effective)
• District Court (longer play, bigger upside)
But don’t file an appeal unless you’re ready to finish the fight. It’s serious. You’re going up against attorneys and experts.
We don’t want to make noise. We appeal to win.
You’ve filed. That was step one. Now you’re in the fight, and most property owners are walking in blind.
The appraisal district is counting on you being disorganized, emotional, and unprepared. That’s how they win. That’s how they keep your valuation high and your tax bill bloated.
From informal negotiations to ARB hearings and beyond, we help you control the pace, dictate the narrative, and force decisions that move your number down. You don’t need to guess, plead, or settle. You need leverage. That’s what we bring.
Take Action Today!
Book your representation now before the board decides for you. We’ll handle every step like your refund depends on it because it does.
