Ownwell Review: Lower Your Property Taxes

Ownwell is a service that helps you appeal and lower your property taxes.

The cost of owning a property goes far beyond the purchase price. Even if you pay off your mortgage, you’ll still be on the hook for property taxes. Unfortunately, an unfair assessment could push your property tax costs higher and take a big bite out of your budget.

As a property owner, you have the right to appeal the assessed value of your home, which can help you lower your property taxes. But the time-consuming process forces homeowners to jump through many hoops. That’s where Ownwell comes in to negotiate for you and help you save on your property tax bill.

We explore how Ownwell works so you can decide if it’s a good fit for your situation.

Ownwell is an Austin-based company that works with property owners to lower their property taxes. The company uses a team of experts supported by technology to help homeowners successfully appeal unfair assessments.

While being a relatively new company, they did over 170,000 property tax appeals in 2023.

Ownwell will appeal the valuation of you home on which your property taxes are based. You only pay if the appeal is successful.

They say they have an 86% success rate and expect to do between 400,000 and 500,000 appeals in 2024, with the average customer saving over $1,100. 

Property taxes are an unavoidable cost. But that doesn’t mean you should overpay. When the tax office assesses the value of your home, that can directly impact how much you’ll pay in property taxes that year.

The good news for property owners is that you have the right to appeal your assessment. The bad news is that doing so on your own can be a tedious and time-consuming process. Ownwell offers to take over the appeals process for you.

When you work with Ownwell, the process works by providing the company with details like an image of your property tax bill. From there, Ownwell will make a case for you and submit it to the appropriate tax body. Throughout the process, a dedicated Property Tax Consultant is a local expert in charge of your case. Depending on the situation, Ownwell might meet with the county assessors or attend appeal board hearings.

If they’re successful, you’ll get notified about your savings and pay a percentage of the savings as the fee to Ownwell. 

Here’s what it looks like when you enter your address:

As of writing, Ownwell says that single-family homeowners save an average of $1,148 per year when working with Ownwell. Also, the company claims that over 85% of customers see a reduction in their property tax bill. But, of course, the amount you could save varies from place to place.

It’s worth noting that property owners in Washington and Georgia could see their taxable value increase after a review, which would lead to more property taxes. But if Ownwell sees that as a risk, they will forgo filing your appeal.

The biggest downside of Ownwell is that it’s not available everywhere. The company currently operates in Texas, California, Washington, Georgia, Florida, Illinois, and New York.

Furthermore, even in places like California, there’s only a limited amount of options due to policies like Prop 13, which cap your property tax rates.

When you work with Ownwell, you won’t encounter any upfront fees. If the company can’t save you money, you won’t pay anything. But if the company does save you money, it will take 25% to 35% of those savings.

For example, let’s say Ownwell saves you $1,000 on your property taxes. You would pay them $250 to $350 for their service.

If you are looking for a streamlined property tax reduction service without any upfront cost, Ownwell is a top-tier choice. It’s true that you could go through the paperwork yourself. But if you don’t have the time or energy to commit to the process, it could be worth parting with 25% of the savings. And remember, if they don’t save you anything, you don’t pay anything!

Another option is to hire a local property tax attorney. Depending on the situation, these professionals might be able to help you through the appeals process. But you should expect more upfront costs with this option. And you’ll likely pay for this service whether or not you save money.

Finally, you can always do it yourself. This would require filling out specific forms, understanding what your property value is, and then working with the county on any hearings. 

According to Ownwell, the signup process takes less than three minutes. Start by entering your address and answering some basic questions about your property. You’ll also need to upload a copy of your property tax bill. Ownwell will take over from there.

Ownwell protects your personal information through “a system of organizational and technical security measures.” Unfortunately, the privacy policy is a bit vague on how they protect your information. But most of the information they require is publicly available through your tax assessor’s office, so they don’t have access to much the general public already can’t see.

If you want to get in touch with Ownwell, you can call their help team. Here’s the numbers for each state they work in:

• California: 310-421-0191
• Georgia: 678-890-0767
• New York: 516-518-3334
• Washington: 206-395-8382
• Florida: 305-901-2905
• Illinois: 312-500-3131
• Texas: 512-886-2282

If you are a property owner, Ownwell could help you save on your property taxes. It’s an especially good service if you’ve recently seen a spike in the assessed value of your home. But since you don’t have to pay an upfront fee, those who live within the company’s service area could find a lot of value through Ownwell.

I’d like to use Ownwell for my primary residence. Unfortunately, it’s not available in my area. But if it’s an option for you, consider seeking savings with Ownwell today.