About

I'm Russell Sadrieff — an Austin homeowner, product engineer, and the founder of HomeTaxAppeal.

This started the way most of these things do: I opened my appraisal notice, saw the number, and went looking for help. What I found was a choice between spending a weekend learning the process myself, or handing 25–35% of my first-year savings to a contingency firm. Both options felt wrong. The DIY path was winnable but tedious. The contingency firms were charging a meaningful cut for what is, at its core, a data problem: surfacing the right comparable property values so a homeowner can decide whether to protest and what evidence to bring.

So I built the tool I wanted to use.

HomeTaxAppeal is a flat fee, one-time service. No percentage of savings. No auto-renewal. No subscription. You pay once, you get an informational comparables packet you can review when preparing your own protest, and you keep 100% of what you save — this year and every year after.

Why I can build this: I've spent 20+ years building data and AI products at large enterprises, with degrees in math and business. The comp-matching algorithm behind HomeTaxAppeal uses comparable-property data sourced from county appraisal district records and licensed real estate data providers. I'm not a licensed property tax consultant, real estate broker, appraiser, attorney, or CPA — and HomeTaxAppeal isn't any of those things either. It's a software tool that pulls comparable-property data so you can decide for yourself whether your assessment is worth protesting. I don't carry the overhead of a firm, so I can charge a smaller flat fee.

Why Austin: I've lived in Austin since 2012. I pay Travis County property taxes. I know the CAD process and the local quirks that matter when you're researching your own assessment.