FAQ · Straight answers
Frequently asked questions
Short, direct answers to the questions consultants actually ask. For the math and the measured results, see the methodology page.
Where does the data come from?
Public records only. Property values, classes, exemptions and improvement detail come from the appraisal district's own certified appraisal export (Travis: TCAD, downloaded from traviscad.org). Agent-of-record history comes from a Public Information Act request to the district. Tax rates come from the county tax office's truth-in-taxation tables. Parcel locations come from the county's public parcel GIS. Prior-year outcomes for the backtest come from HCAD's published ARB hearing results. Every deliverable cites its exact source and vintage.
Is this legal? Is the data allowed to be used this way?
Yes. Appraisal rolls, agent-of-record records, and tax rates are public records under Texas law, produced for public use. We resell our selection, computation, and formatting of that public data to licensed professionals — we don't claim ownership of the underlying public facts. We are not a consumer reporting agency and our data is about properties, not consumer-protected personal information.
Do you ever work with, or contact, property owners?
Never. We sell data and software to TDLR-registered property tax consultants. We do not represent owners, do not file protests or appointments, do not contact owners, and are not a party to any hearing. The consultant who buys our data is the professional of record for every use of it — deliverables are labelled "Prepared for [your firm]." Your outreach to owners, and your compliance with the rules that govern it, is yours.
Is the data exclusive to me? Can a competitor buy the same list?
Our lists are non-exclusive — like any data subscription, another firm in your county can license the same underlying screen. What is exclusive is the packaging: evidence exhibits and packets are prepared in your firm's name and licensed to you (Terms §3). The Founding Five seats are limited by count, not by territory. If you want a genuine head start, the never-represented and recently-lapsed segments are where the open prospects are, and moving first on them is the advantage.
How current is the data? What if a value changes after I buy?
Appraisal rolls are living documents — the district issues supplements through the season, and values move as protests resolve. Every deliverable states the exact export vintage it was built from, and we verify each list against the county's live records before it ships. We don't warrant that any single value, owner, or agent stays current after the cited date — you should confirm a parcel on the district's public portal before a hearing (the packets include a live-verification link for exactly this). Season Packages include an April-2027 notice-season re-screen — we re-run the screen on the new notice values and re-deliver, subject to the county publishing that data.
What are the numbers — are the savings guaranteed?
No. "Indicated value," "excess," "estimated savings," confidence tiers and the historical hit-rates are statistical estimates, not appraisals, legal opinions, or predictions about any one parcel. The performance figures we quote are measured — the same screen run on two prior years of Harris County notices, joined to HCAD's published ARB outcomes — but past results in one county don't guarantee any outcome in another. No appeal is guaranteed to succeed.
So what are you, and what aren't you?
We are: an independent data vendor that screens the public appraisal roll for the equal-and-uniform test, ranks the over-assessed parcels, and packages the evidence for licensed consultants. We are not: a property tax consultant, an appraiser, an attorney, an agent for any owner, or a party to any protest. We build the ammunition; you run the case.
More detail: methodology · verification standard · terms · privacy. Questions we didn't answer: praneeth@4226tax.com.