County Evidence Rebuttal Builder
Takes the evidence packet the appraisal district (or assessor) plans to use against a homeowner - typically its own comparable sales and the methodology behind its value - and produces a point-by-point rebuttal the homeowner can deliver at the hearing. The homeowner supplies their state, the district's evidence (its comps and any stated methodology), their own comparable sales, their supported opinion of value, and the verified facts about their property (square footage, lot size, condition, features). The tool examines each of the district's comps for the standard weaknesses a review board recognizes - non-arm's-length or distressed transfers, homes that are not truly comparable in size, age, or location, sales too stale to reflect the valuation date, and superior features (extra baths, larger lot, recent remodel, pool) the district counted without adjusting downward to match the subject. It returns a short list of rebuttal talking points (one per weakness, in plain language) plus the homeowner's stronger counter-case anchored to their own comps and opinion of value. In states that recognize an equal-and-uniform / unequal-appraisal claim, it frames the counter around the median of appropriately adjusted comparable properties. It is informational and never invents a new value or a sale that was not supplied - it only stress-tests the evidence the homeowner already has in hand.
Example
Input: State: Texas (Harris County). District's evidence: the appraisal district's packet lists three comps supporting $720,000 - Comp X sold $735,000 (a 2,950 sq ft home, ~550 sq ft larger than mine, with a pool); Comp Y sold $710,000 but it was a builder sale of a brand-new home two streets over; Comp Z sold $700,000 eighteen months ago. My comps: (1) 0.3 mi away, 2,150 sq ft, sold $612,000 four months ago; (2) same street, 2,400 sq ft, sold $635,000 two months ago; (3) backs to a commercial lot like mine, sold $628,000 last month. My opinion of value: $640,000. Record facts: my home is 2,400 sq ft heated area, no pool, standard lot, original 2009 construction, no recent remodel, backs onto a commercial lot.
Output: Here is how to rebut the appraisal district's evidence and present your stronger case. PART ONE - Rebutting the district's comps: - Comp X ($735,000): This home is about 2,950 square feet - roughly 550 square feet larger than my 2,400 - and it has a pool, which my home does not. Both are superior features, so its price has to be adjusted downward before it can be compared to mine; as presented, unadjusted, it overstates my value. - Comp Y ($710,000): This was a builder sale of a brand-new home. A new-construction sale carries the builder's premium and is not an arm's-length resale of a home like mine, so it is not a reliable indicator of my market value. - Comp Z ($700,000): This sale closed about eighteen months ago, well before the January 1 valuation date. A sale that stale does not reflect current value unless it is time-adjusted, and the district's packet shows no time adjustment, so it should be set aside. PART TWO - My stronger counter: My three comparables are recent arm's-length sales of homes genuinely like mine - close in size, in my immediate area, and one that, like my home, backs onto a commercial lot, which is a recognized location penalty. They cluster around $635,000, and I have placed my opinion of value conservatively at $640,000. In a Texas protest the appraisal district must establish its value by a preponderance of the evidence (Tex. Tax Code Sec. 41.43(a)), and on an equal-and-uniform basis my value should be no higher than the median appraised value of a reasonable number of comparable properties appropriately adjusted (Tex. Tax Code Sec. 41.43(b)(3)). I obtained the district's evidence packet before this hearing, as Sec. 41.461 entitles me to, which is why I can address each of its comps directly. Once the district's larger, pool-equipped, builder-sale, and stale comps are properly adjusted or set aside, the credible evidence supports a reduction from $720,000 to $640,000. Thank you for your time.
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