In our 2026 National Homeowner Survey, 73% of homeowners said they would trust a third-party service to handle their property tax appeal. Yet many still ask whether we are the real deal.
It is smart to vet any company you hand your property details to. So this guide puts Ownwell property tax service legitimacy under the microscope, in our own words.
We will cover what we are, how to verify us, how we get paid, and the concerns we hear most.
TL;DR Facts
We are a real, Austin-based company, founded in 2020 and backed by institutional investors.
You pay nothing up front and owe a fee only if we lower your tax bill.
Our independent proof includes Better Business Bureau (BBB) A+ accreditation and a 4.7-star rating from more than 3,000 Google reviews.
We have handled more than 1 million property tax appeals nationwide.
Most complaints trace to fees or renewals, not missed work, and both are avoidable.
What Is Ownwell?
Ownwell is a legitimate property tax technology company. In plain terms, we help homeowners and investors lower what they owe, and you pay only if we cut your bill.
You enter your address, and we take it from there. Our software and local tax experts build the case, file the paperwork, and represent you at hearings.
We do more than appeals. We also file property tax exemptions, review your home insurance, and trim other household bills.
We work in nine states. That means full protest services in Texas, grievance services in New York, and appeal services in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Washington, Pennsylvania, and Colorado.
Colton Pace and Joseph Noor co-founded the company in 2020, and we're based in Austin, Texas. For our mission and leadership, see our Ownwell company overview.
Ownwell Property Tax Service Legitimacy: How to Verify Us
Ownwell property tax service legitimacy comes down to evidence you can check yourself. We welcome the scrutiny because the trail is public. Here are four ways to verify us:
Accreditation: We are BBB-accredited property tax consultants and currently hold an A+ rating.
Reviews: We hold a 4.7-star rating across more than 3,000 Google reviews, shown in our verified Ownwell customer reviews.
Founders and funding: Our founders are public, and institutional capital backs us, not anonymous owners.
Scale: We have handled more than 1 million property tax appeals nationwide.
That scale translates into dollars saved. We have helped property owners save more than $400 million in five years.
Last year alone, we helped more than 200,000 owners who had never appealed before.
The problem is real and widespread. The Realtor.com 2025 Property Tax Report found 40.5% of U.S. homes may be over-assessed.
Yet most owners never push back. Per National Taxpayers Union estimates, only about 3%-5% of homeowners appeal, and 30%-50% of those who do win a reduction.
Want to Try What Made Ownwell Famous?
We Publish Our Results Where the Data Is Public
Transparency is part of how we earn trust. Where counties release assessment data, we publish what actually happened.
In Texas, our Texas Protest vs. Non-Protest Study found homeowners left $3.3 billion in potential savings unclaimed from 2023 to 2025. You can compare local outcomes on our Texas property tax trends pages.
In Nassau County, New York, our Nassau County property tax grievance study analyzed 224,983 successful Assessment Review Commission (ARC) grievances that saved a combined $387.2 million.
In Travis County, Texas, our Austin-area property tax protest agent performance data shows we won reductions for 94% of clients, versus 85% for traditional firms.
How Ownwell Works and What It Costs
Our process is simpler than most people expect, and we don't hide how we get paid. You start with a free estimate, and we do the heavy lifting.
Here is how a typical appeal moves:
Enter your address. You get a free savings estimate in about 15 seconds.
We build the evidence. Our software and local experts assemble comparable sales data.
We file and represent you. We handle the paperwork, negotiation, and hearings.
We monitor and refile. We track your assessment yearly and refile when it helps.
Now the money question. We charge a 25%-35% contingency fee, depending on your state. A contingency fee is a share of your first-year savings that you owe only if we win.
For example, if we save you $1,000 at a 25% rate, our fee is $250, and you keep $750.
There is no upfront cost. If we don't reduce your bill, you owe nothing under our Savings-Or-Free Guarantee.
This aligns our incentives with yours. We only earn when you save.
You will see our appeal pricing and Savings-Or-Free Guarantee before you commit, so there are no surprises.
If your county's deadline is approaching, start your property tax appeal now so there's still time to gather comps and file.
How Much Are You Over Paying?
The Concerns We Hear Most (and Honest Answers)
When people call us a scam, it usually comes down to a few worries. We would rather answer them directly:
Fee sticker shock. A share of savings feels steep, but you keep most of it, and many firms charge 40% or more or add minimum fees.
Automatic re-enrollment. We refile each year unless you cancel two months before the applicable deadline, so set a yearly reminder. This is standard across our field.
Visibility. You can request the evidence we filed and track your status in your dashboard.
Risk of a higher bill. In most states, an appeal cannot raise your assessment.
Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Washington are exceptions, where an appeal can trigger a reassessment. In Pennsylvania, school districts and municipalities can also file their own appeals to raise assessed value, and they often target homes that recently sold above their assessment. In all three states, we review the evidence first and file only when it supports a reduction.
The same caution applies to any provider. Learn how to spot property tax fee red flags, like flat fees with no guaranteed savings and vague add-on charges.
How Ownwell Can Help
We manage the full appeal from start to finish. We estimate your savings, build the evidence, file the paperwork, and represent you at hearings, with no upfront cost.
Our customers win a reduction 88% of the time and save an average of $774 a year. Those figures reflect our customers, not all homeowners.
We also serve single-family investors and commercial owners who manage taxes across whole portfolios.
If you just got your assessment notice, start your appeal now while there's still time to file.
