Hostile Appeal Board Role-Play Coach

Input: State: Texas (Harris County); appeal body: Appraisal Review Board (ARB); assessed value $720,000; opinion of value $640,000; comps: (1) 0.3 mi away, 2,150 sf vs my 2,400 sf, sold $612,000 four months ago; (2) same street, similar size, sold $635,000 two months ago; (3) backs to a commercial lot like mine, sold $628,000 last month; owner argument: "My three comps all sold for less than my assessed value, so my home is over-assessed and should be lowered to $640,000."

Output: Board member: We're here on account 1234567, assessed at $720,000, and you're asking us to drop it to $640,000. In about thirty seconds, why is $640,000 the right number? [Homeowner answers.] Board member: Let's take your first sale. It's 2,150 square feet and yours is 2,400 - that's a smaller home selling for $612,000. If anything that argues your house is worth MORE, not less. How did you adjust for the 250-square-foot difference, and what dollar figure did you use per square foot? [Homeowner answers.] Board member: Your second comp is on your own street at $635,000 two months ago. Was that an arm's-length sale - not a relative, not a foreclosure, not a builder closeout? And was it in similar condition to yours, or was it updated? [Homeowner answers.] Board member: The third sold last month for $628,000 and you say it backs a commercial lot "like mine." The district will say a location penalty cuts both ways - if that home is similarly burdened, it's not pulling your value down, it's confirming the market already prices that in. So walk me through: after your size and condition adjustments, what's the indicated value range, and how did you land on $640,000 rather than, say, $625,000 or $635,000? [Homeowner answers.] Board member: One more. You've given me three sales. Why only three, and did you exclude any nearby sales that came in higher? If you cherry-picked the low ones, the district will say so. [Homeowner answers.] --- Coaching feedback --- What landed: leading with a specific requested number and having three reasonably close, recent sales is the right backbone. The same-street comp at $635,000 is your strongest single fact - lead with it. What was weak: your size adjustment on Comp 1 was vague. Bring a dollar-per-square-foot figure you can defend (and show it lands the adjusted comp below $720,000). The $640,000 figure read as a round-number guess - reframe it as 'my adjusted comps cluster around $635,000 and I placed my opinion conservatively at $640,000.' And you didn't have an answer for why only three comps; have one or two more in your back pocket and be ready to say you used the most similar, not the cheapest. Two fixes before the hearing: (1) write the per-square-foot and condition adjustments on one page so each comp visibly nets out below the assessed value; (2) practice saying, in one sentence, that in a Texas protest the appraisal district must establish its value by a preponderance of the evidence, and your comparable sales show the home is over-assessed. Keep it about value, not the tax bill.