\n\t\t\t\tOwnwell
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h5>\n<\/p>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wallethacks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/ownwell-logo-400x210.jpg\"\/)
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wallethacks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/ownwell-logo-400x210.jpg\")
<\/div>\n\nProduct Name:<\/strong> Ownwell<\/p>\nProduct Description:<\/strong> Ownwell is a service that will protest your property tax assessment and attempt to get it lowered. They will also look for other discounts and programs that may lower your tax liability. They work on a “savings-or-free” model, which means you only pay them if they reduce your taxes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\nAbout Ownwell<\/strong><\/p>\nOwnwell was founded in 2020 with the goal of bringing sophisticated real estate tools to ordinary homeowners. They claim to save, on average, $1,430 annually and look to do 400,000-500,000 protests in 2024.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nPros<\/strong><\/p>\nEasy to use
Free if not successful
Average annual savings of $1,430
Continuous monitoring for exemptions<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\nCons<\/strong><\/p>\nOnly available in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Texas, and Washington<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p><\/div>\n
How much are your property taxes?<\/p>\n
In our county in Maryland, we pay a total of $1.442 per $100 of assessed value.<\/p>\n
1.442% doesn\u2019t sound like a lot, but the median home price in my county is around $580,000.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s $8,400 a year.<\/strong><\/p>\nWhen I received my property tax assessment last year, it included a significant increase in assessed value. We renovated a section of the house, so part of that was justified, but it seemed like the jump was too<\/em> high.<\/p>\nI decided to contest my property taxes<\/a> myself and won. The process, which you can read about in the linked article, took several hours spread across several weeks. And I was \u201clucky\u201d in that I was given a good result at the first stage (just filling out a form), so I accepted it.<\/p>\nIf they rejected my claim and required me to plead my case to a live panel, I\u2019m not sure I\u2019d be as comfortable doing that.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, there are services out there that will do it for you.<\/p>\n
One of those is called Ownwell<\/a>.<\/p>\nAt A Glance<\/h2>\n\n- Ownwell will appeal your property taxes on your behalf<\/li>\n
- Monitors for tax exemptions based on your individual property<\/li>\n
- No upfront fees<\/strong> \u2013 pay only upon successful reduction of property taxes<\/li>\n
- Pay 25% or 35% of savings, depending on your state<\/li>\n
- Available in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Texas, and Washington. (but expanding all the time so check your state)<\/li>\n
- Average savings is $1,148<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Who Should Use Ownwell<\/h2>\n
Homeowners and Real Estate investors who want to ensure they aren\u2019t overpaying their property taxes should consider Ownwell. They will appeal your property taxes for no upfront costs and you pay a percentage of your savings if your appeal is successful. So there is no risk and no leg work for you. <\/p>\n\nTable of Contents<\/summary>\n\n- At A Glance<\/a><\/li>\n
- Who Should Use Ownwell<\/a><\/li>\n
- Who Is Ownwell?<\/a><\/li>\n
- In Which States Does Ownwell Operate?<\/a><\/li>\n
- When Can I Appeal My Property Taxes?<\/a><\/li>\n
- How Does Ownwell Work?<\/a><\/li>\n
- Finding Exemptions and Claiming Refunds<\/a><\/li>\n
- Is Ownwell Legit?<\/a><\/li>\n
- Ownwell Fees<\/a><\/li>\n
- What are Ownwell Alternatives?<\/a><\/li>\n
- Is Ownwell Worth It?<\/a><\/li>\n
- FAQs<\/a><\/li>\n
- Summary<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/details>\n
Who Is Ownwell?<\/h2>\n
Ownwell<\/a> is a service that will contest your property tax assessments with your taxing authority so you can pay less in property taxes. They will also find exemptions and other tax savings you may not know about or have overlooked.<\/p>\nOwnwell was founded by Colton Pace and Joseph Noor in 2020. Pace\u2019s background in investing and asset management gave him exposure to the various tools used by real estate investors, and he wanted to bring them to regular homeowners. The result is Ownwell, a service to contest property taxes.<\/p>\n
Ownwell doesn\u2019t operate in every state (yet).<\/p>\n
In Which States Does Ownwell Operate?<\/h2>\n
Ownwell isn\u2019t in every state and for some of the states they do operate in, they aren\u2019t in every single county.<\/p>\n
As of May 2025, they are in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Texas, and Washington. You have to double check that your county is included (it\u2019s not feasible to list every county here though, California has 58 counties and Texas as 254!).<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wallethacks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/ownwell-covered-states-march2024.jpg\"\/)
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wallethacks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/ownwell-covered-states-march2024.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nThey are adding counties all the time, so the best way to know is to go to Ownwell<\/a> and enter your address.<\/p>\nWhen Can I Appeal My Property Taxes?<\/h2>\n
The schedule for when you can appeal will depend on your state and, in some cases, the county within that state. They\u2019re all on different schedules.<\/p>\n
For example, in Maryland, this process only happens once every three years. In New York, and many other states, it happens every single year!<\/p>\n
I asked Ownwell to provide a schedule (and they did) but it\u2019s a little complicated and hard to share on a single screen\u2026 also, many dates are county specific and they cover so many counties that it\u2019s unwieldly to list it all here.<\/p>\n
The end result is that the simplest thing to do is sign up for Ownwell and then wait for your assessment to arrive. Then, enter in the details and decide whether you should use them to contest your appraisal. <\/p>\n
As there\u2019s no cost to sign up, you can use their technology to help you manage the schedule and decide later if you want to use them.<\/p>\n
How Does Ownwell Work?<\/h2>\n
First, go to Ownwell<\/a> and enter your address.<\/p>\nSince they don\u2019t operate in Maryland, I chose a random property in Humble, TX (a suburb of Houston). They service Harris County.<\/p>\n
Go to Ownwell<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wallethacks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/ownwell-savings-estimate-full.jpg\"\/)
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wallethacks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/ownwell-savings-estimate-full.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nIt may not be worth it for a homeowner to learn the ins and outs of protesting property tax assessments for $473, especially if it\u2019s not a guarantee you\u2019ll get any reduction. But if I owned this home and didn\u2019t want to do it, I\u2019d be perfectly happy hiring someone on a contingency basis (I pay only if they win) \u2013 which is how Ownwell works (more on fees later).<\/p>\n
If you continue, you\u2019ll be prompted to enter your information. (I\u2019m using a demo account, if you do this yourself, enter your information)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wallethacks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/ownwell-property-owner-details-1.jpg\"\/)
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wallethacks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/ownwell-property-owner-details-1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nThe next few screens confirm information, like whether you purchased this property in the last 18 months and the property owner\u2019s name.<\/p>\n
The last page, after you\u2019ve confirmed all the details, authorizes Ownwell to act as your Tax Agent. This lets them contact the taxing authority on your behalf and contest your property taxes.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wallethacks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/ownwell-next-steps.jpg\"\/)
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wallethacks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/ownwell-next-steps.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nFrom here, you can log in and check the progress of your protest.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wallethacks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/ownwell-dashboard-progress.jpg\"\/)
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wallethacks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/ownwell-dashboard-progress.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nI believe Texas publishes them in April, and then you have 30 days to protest.<\/p>\n
This will vary from state to state and in Texas, you can(and should) do this every single year.<\/p>\n
Go to Ownwell<\/a><\/p>\nFinding Exemptions and Claiming Refunds<\/h2>\n
In addition to contesting your assessment this year, they offer a service to determine whether you\u2019re eligible for any tax exemptions. If they find any, they can even make claims on previous years to get a tax refund.<\/p>\n
There are a lot of different tax exemptions out there and these are challenging to keep track of. For example, here in Maryland, we have an Agricultural Use Assessment that significantly lowers property taxes on areas where you have agreed to keep to agricultural use. I only knew about it because the previous owner had it. <\/p>\n
We don\u2019t grow anything (commercial) on the land, it\u2019s all wooded, but that counts. The only requirement is that we get an arborist to certify an agricultural use plan every few years, and we get a huge<\/strong> discount on the assessed value of the undeveloped land. It has saved us thousands of dollars a year.<\/p>\nOwnwell looks for exemptions like that.<\/p>\n
Then, they will monitor your taxes each year to make sure everything is correct. If, for whatever reason, an exemption is left off, they\u2019ll make sure to fix it.<\/p>\n
Is Ownwell Legit?<\/h2>\n
Ownwell is a legitimate company and what they offer is a service that is common in places with high property taxes and annual appraisals. In Texas, which has high property taxes and annual appraisals, there are a lot of companies and lawyers that offer this service.<\/p>\n
In doing some research, I found this insightful comment from Reddit<\/a> (it\u2019s two years old but still accurate):<\/p>\n\nThese companies are very common where I live (in Texas, which has very high property taxes).<\/p>\n
They package up a lot of them together and settle with the county appraisal district. Around here they charge 40%-50%. They aren\u2019t a scam to the individual but they certainly are at a different level \u2013 one of the largest ones in Houston is run by a lawyer that used to be the county tax appraiser and is now a state senator. His company knows how the game is played and profits from it.<\/p>\n
Personally I generally do my own, but it takes a few hours to put together a good protest package and go in front of the appraisal board. I\u2019ve generally won, mainly because I know what I am doing and put in a lot more effort on my individual property than the appraiser (who is doing hundreds of them) does. I kind of enjoyed the last one because I did so much better than the appraiser did before the board. He didn\u2019t have his evidence together, and it was the end of the day and they were in a hurry to complete the docket and ruled in my favor.<\/p>\n
If you don\u2019t have time\/don\u2019t want to bother\/not sure how to protest it\u2019s worth a shot.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
As you\u2019ll learn below, Ownwell charges 25% in Texas (making it quite a bit cheaper) and depending on how much they can save, they can also save you several hours of work (and an appearance in front of the appraisal board).<\/p>\n
Ownwell Fees<\/h2>\n
Ownwell operates on a success fee model \u2013 you only pay them if they win an appeal and lower your property taxes. They only charge you if your final property tax bill is reduced and they have a signed document from your taxing authority to prove it.<\/p>\n
If they aren\u2019t able to lower it, you pay nothing<\/em>.<\/p>\nIn California, New York, and Florida, the success fee is 35%. It is just 25% everywhere else.<\/p>\n
For the above example, if Ownwell gets a $473 reduction in property taxes, I would pay them $118.25. I keep $354.75.<\/p>\n
How does this fee compare to other companies?<\/strong> You should research this for your own state, as it will vary, but I found a tax firm in Texas that listed their pricing. On a single property, they charged 40% with a $149 minimum. For 2-5 properties, it was 35% with no minimum. Only 6+, it was 30%.<\/p>\nWhat are Ownwell Alternatives?<\/h2>\n
The biggest alternative is to call a local law firm that specializes in this same type of work. There are plenty of law firms that offer this. At this time, I\u2019m not aware of a company that operates in multiple states.<\/p>\n
The tradeoff with using a local law firm has to do with cost. They are typically not going to be able to work with individual homeowners and still be able to charge a small success fee. They often have minimum fees and will only take your case if they see it as being \u201cworth their time.\u201d In a quick search myself, I found that firms are very up front about this because contesting appraisals is time intensive and they don\u2019t want to waste their time or yours.<\/p>\n
As I mentioned in the above section about fees, I found a tax firm that charged 40% fee with a $149 minimum. In Texas, Ownwell charges just 25% with no minimum.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nProduct Name:<\/strong> Ownwell<\/p>\n Product Description:<\/strong> Ownwell is a service that will protest your property tax assessment and attempt to get it lowered. They will also look for other discounts and programs that may lower your tax liability. They work on a “savings-or-free” model, which means you only pay them if they reduce your taxes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n About Ownwell<\/strong><\/p>\n Ownwell was founded in 2020 with the goal of bringing sophisticated real estate tools to ordinary homeowners. They claim to save, on average, $1,430 annually and look to do 400,000-500,000 protests in 2024.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Pros<\/strong><\/p>\n Easy to use Cons<\/strong><\/p>\n Only available in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Texas, and Washington<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p><\/div>\n How much are your property taxes?<\/p>\n In our county in Maryland, we pay a total of $1.442 per $100 of assessed value.<\/p>\n 1.442% doesn\u2019t sound like a lot, but the median home price in my county is around $580,000.<\/p>\n That\u2019s $8,400 a year.<\/strong><\/p>\n When I received my property tax assessment last year, it included a significant increase in assessed value. We renovated a section of the house, so part of that was justified, but it seemed like the jump was too<\/em> high.<\/p>\n I decided to contest my property taxes<\/a> myself and won. The process, which you can read about in the linked article, took several hours spread across several weeks. And I was \u201clucky\u201d in that I was given a good result at the first stage (just filling out a form), so I accepted it.<\/p>\n If they rejected my claim and required me to plead my case to a live panel, I\u2019m not sure I\u2019d be as comfortable doing that.<\/p>\n Fortunately, there are services out there that will do it for you.<\/p>\n One of those is called Ownwell<\/a>.<\/p>\n Homeowners and Real Estate investors who want to ensure they aren\u2019t overpaying their property taxes should consider Ownwell. They will appeal your property taxes for no upfront costs and you pay a percentage of your savings if your appeal is successful. So there is no risk and no leg work for you. <\/p>\n Ownwell<\/a> is a service that will contest your property tax assessments with your taxing authority so you can pay less in property taxes. They will also find exemptions and other tax savings you may not know about or have overlooked.<\/p>\n Ownwell was founded by Colton Pace and Joseph Noor in 2020. Pace\u2019s background in investing and asset management gave him exposure to the various tools used by real estate investors, and he wanted to bring them to regular homeowners. The result is Ownwell, a service to contest property taxes.<\/p>\n Ownwell doesn\u2019t operate in every state (yet).<\/p>\n Ownwell isn\u2019t in every state and for some of the states they do operate in, they aren\u2019t in every single county.<\/p>\n As of May 2025, they are in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Texas, and Washington. You have to double check that your county is included (it\u2019s not feasible to list every county here though, California has 58 counties and Texas as 254!).<\/p>\n They are adding counties all the time, so the best way to know is to go to Ownwell<\/a> and enter your address.<\/p>\n The schedule for when you can appeal will depend on your state and, in some cases, the county within that state. They\u2019re all on different schedules.<\/p>\n For example, in Maryland, this process only happens once every three years. In New York, and many other states, it happens every single year!<\/p>\n I asked Ownwell to provide a schedule (and they did) but it\u2019s a little complicated and hard to share on a single screen\u2026 also, many dates are county specific and they cover so many counties that it\u2019s unwieldly to list it all here.<\/p>\n The end result is that the simplest thing to do is sign up for Ownwell and then wait for your assessment to arrive. Then, enter in the details and decide whether you should use them to contest your appraisal. <\/p>\n As there\u2019s no cost to sign up, you can use their technology to help you manage the schedule and decide later if you want to use them.<\/p>\n First, go to Ownwell<\/a> and enter your address.<\/p>\n Since they don\u2019t operate in Maryland, I chose a random property in Humble, TX (a suburb of Houston). They service Harris County.<\/p>\n Go to Ownwell<\/a><\/p>\n It may not be worth it for a homeowner to learn the ins and outs of protesting property tax assessments for $473, especially if it\u2019s not a guarantee you\u2019ll get any reduction. But if I owned this home and didn\u2019t want to do it, I\u2019d be perfectly happy hiring someone on a contingency basis (I pay only if they win) \u2013 which is how Ownwell works (more on fees later).<\/p>\n If you continue, you\u2019ll be prompted to enter your information. (I\u2019m using a demo account, if you do this yourself, enter your information)<\/p>\n The next few screens confirm information, like whether you purchased this property in the last 18 months and the property owner\u2019s name.<\/p>\n The last page, after you\u2019ve confirmed all the details, authorizes Ownwell to act as your Tax Agent. This lets them contact the taxing authority on your behalf and contest your property taxes.<\/p>\n From here, you can log in and check the progress of your protest.<\/p>\n I believe Texas publishes them in April, and then you have 30 days to protest.<\/p>\n This will vary from state to state and in Texas, you can(and should) do this every single year.<\/p>\n Go to Ownwell<\/a><\/p>\n In addition to contesting your assessment this year, they offer a service to determine whether you\u2019re eligible for any tax exemptions. If they find any, they can even make claims on previous years to get a tax refund.<\/p>\n There are a lot of different tax exemptions out there and these are challenging to keep track of. For example, here in Maryland, we have an Agricultural Use Assessment that significantly lowers property taxes on areas where you have agreed to keep to agricultural use. I only knew about it because the previous owner had it. <\/p>\n We don\u2019t grow anything (commercial) on the land, it\u2019s all wooded, but that counts. The only requirement is that we get an arborist to certify an agricultural use plan every few years, and we get a huge<\/strong> discount on the assessed value of the undeveloped land. It has saved us thousands of dollars a year.<\/p>\n Ownwell looks for exemptions like that.<\/p>\n Then, they will monitor your taxes each year to make sure everything is correct. If, for whatever reason, an exemption is left off, they\u2019ll make sure to fix it.<\/p>\n Ownwell is a legitimate company and what they offer is a service that is common in places with high property taxes and annual appraisals. In Texas, which has high property taxes and annual appraisals, there are a lot of companies and lawyers that offer this service.<\/p>\n In doing some research, I found this insightful comment from Reddit<\/a> (it\u2019s two years old but still accurate):<\/p>\n These companies are very common where I live (in Texas, which has very high property taxes).<\/p>\n They package up a lot of them together and settle with the county appraisal district. Around here they charge 40%-50%. They aren\u2019t a scam to the individual but they certainly are at a different level \u2013 one of the largest ones in Houston is run by a lawyer that used to be the county tax appraiser and is now a state senator. His company knows how the game is played and profits from it.<\/p>\n Personally I generally do my own, but it takes a few hours to put together a good protest package and go in front of the appraisal board. I\u2019ve generally won, mainly because I know what I am doing and put in a lot more effort on my individual property than the appraiser (who is doing hundreds of them) does. I kind of enjoyed the last one because I did so much better than the appraiser did before the board. He didn\u2019t have his evidence together, and it was the end of the day and they were in a hurry to complete the docket and ruled in my favor.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t have time\/don\u2019t want to bother\/not sure how to protest it\u2019s worth a shot.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n As you\u2019ll learn below, Ownwell charges 25% in Texas (making it quite a bit cheaper) and depending on how much they can save, they can also save you several hours of work (and an appearance in front of the appraisal board).<\/p>\n Ownwell operates on a success fee model \u2013 you only pay them if they win an appeal and lower your property taxes. They only charge you if your final property tax bill is reduced and they have a signed document from your taxing authority to prove it.<\/p>\n If they aren\u2019t able to lower it, you pay nothing<\/em>.<\/p>\n In California, New York, and Florida, the success fee is 35%. It is just 25% everywhere else.<\/p>\n For the above example, if Ownwell gets a $473 reduction in property taxes, I would pay them $118.25. I keep $354.75.<\/p>\n How does this fee compare to other companies?<\/strong> You should research this for your own state, as it will vary, but I found a tax firm in Texas that listed their pricing. On a single property, they charged 40% with a $149 minimum. For 2-5 properties, it was 35% with no minimum. Only 6+, it was 30%.<\/p>\n The biggest alternative is to call a local law firm that specializes in this same type of work. There are plenty of law firms that offer this. At this time, I\u2019m not aware of a company that operates in multiple states.<\/p>\n The tradeoff with using a local law firm has to do with cost. They are typically not going to be able to work with individual homeowners and still be able to charge a small success fee. They often have minimum fees and will only take your case if they see it as being \u201cworth their time.\u201d In a quick search myself, I found that firms are very up front about this because contesting appraisals is time intensive and they don\u2019t want to waste their time or yours.<\/p>\n As I mentioned in the above section about fees, I found a tax firm that charged 40% fee with a $149 minimum. In Texas, Ownwell charges just 25% with no minimum.<\/p>\n
Free if not successful
Average annual savings of $1,430
Continuous monitoring for exemptions<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nAt A Glance<\/h2>\n
\n
Who Should Use Ownwell<\/h2>\n
Table of Contents<\/summary>\n
\n
Who Is Ownwell?<\/h2>\n
In Which States Does Ownwell Operate?<\/h2>\n
<\/figure>\nWhen Can I Appeal My Property Taxes?<\/h2>\n
How Does Ownwell Work?<\/h2>\n
<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\nFinding Exemptions and Claiming Refunds<\/h2>\n
Is Ownwell Legit?<\/h2>\n
\n
Ownwell Fees<\/h2>\n
What are Ownwell Alternatives?<\/h2>\n