Most Texas homeowners walk into a hearing with a few comparable sales. A TaxStand packet stacks nine independent, government-sourced lines of evidence for your specific property — the kind an Appraisal Review Board can't wave away.
Check my property →How a TaxStand packet compares to protesting on your own, a budget filing tool, and a contingency firm. (Competitor columns describe common, publicly-known approaches — verify specifics with each provider.)
| Evidence in the packet | DIY, on your own | Budget tool (~$99) | Contingency firm (25–50%) | TaxStand ($199 flat) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equal-and-uniform comps + median math (§41.43(b)(3)) | If you build it | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Independent market-value consensus (FHFA HPI + AVM + trend) | No | No | Rarely | Yes |
| Redfin market-reality check vs. your appraisal | No | No | No | Yes |
| HUD federal market context (CHMA) | No | No | No | Yes |
| FEMA flood-hazard value depressant | No | No | No | Yes |
| City building-permit rebuttal (kills improvement-value hikes) | No | No | No | Yes |
| County-specific district intel & tactics | No | No | In-house only | Yes |
| §25.25(c) characteristics-correction request | No | No | Sometimes | Yes |
| Both grounds argued (unequal and market value) | If you know how | Usually one | Usually one | Yes |
| Who keeps the savings | You (100%) | You (100%) | Firm keeps 25–50% | You (100%) |
| You control the filing | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
A single set of comps is easy to argue with. A packet that opens with your unequal-appraisal median, then a federal market-value consensus, then a Redfin reality check, then HUD data, then FEMA flood status, then city permit records rebutting an improvement hike, then district-specific intel, then a §25.25 correction demand — is not one claim. It's nine, each independent, each government-published, each cross-referencing the others.
To dismiss it, a board would have to argue with FHFA, HUD, FEMA, and the appraisal district's own records at once. That's the difference between "a homeowner brought some printouts" and "this was prepared like a firm did it." You keep 100% of the reduction either way.
Comparable homes' appraised value per sq ft, adjusted, with the median the district is legally bound to. Texas's strongest residential ground (§41.43(b)(3)).
The FHFA House Price Index (the U.S. government's official measure), an automated valuation model, and a market-trend model — averaged into one defensible number.
Where the local market actually went — median price, price drops, days on market — vs. what the district says your value did.
HUD's housing-market-area sales-price trend as a second federal data point beside Redfin.
If your parcel sits in a Special Flood Hazard Area, that's a documented, government-sourced value depressant a mass-appraisal model may not reflect.
City permit records that show whether any construction actually justifies an improvement-value increase — often, it doesn't.
County-specific knowledge of how that appraisal district and ARB operate, so you walk in prepared.
A formal demand to fix wrong square footage, condition, or grade in the district's record — errors that inflate your value.
Unequal appraisal and market value presented side by side — two independent paths to a reduction.
Yes — boards weigh the independence and quality of evidence. Layered, government-sourced evidence is far harder to dismiss than a single set of comps.
Public and federal records only: the county's own roll, FHFA, HUD, Redfin aggregates, FEMA, and city permit records. No paywalled or private data.
Firms optimize for volume across thousands of accounts. TaxStand builds one deep packet for your property — and you keep 100% of the reduction.