ValueAppeal Raises $560,000 in Additional Funding, Launches Nationwide Property Tax Appeal Service

SEATTLE--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--ValueAppeal (www.valueappeal.com), a pioneering online property tax appeal service developed to help homeowners lower their property taxes, today announced that it has raised $560,000 from individual investors, following an initial $1 million round of funding earlier in 2010. The company also announced that it is expanding its service to cover a nationwide footprint, following successful localized deployments in several counties across the United States such as Clark County, NV, where the average ValueAppeal customer saved more than $830 on their property taxes. ValueAppeal now covers 80% of the US population and is continuously adding new counties to its coverage area.

“We developed ValueAppeal to level the playing field for homeowners who otherwise would not appeal their assessments because it is too intimidating, too confusing, and too hard to find the data they need to win their appeal”

ValueAppeal’s proprietary technologies and patent-pending algorithms enable homeowners to create a clear and concise property tax appeal online in a matter of minutes, compared to the many hours or even days that it can take to research and prepare for the appeal process using traditional offline means. With approximately 25% of homes in the US being overassessed annually according to ValueAppeal data, the service offers a viable alternative to traditional scenarios in which lawyers and appraisers charge homeowners 50% of any estimated tax savings to produce comparable sales evidence and file appeals on behalf of the homeowners. ValueAppeal charges a flat $99 fee regardless of how much the homeowner saves and provides full refunds for any appeals that are unsuccessful.

“We developed ValueAppeal to level the playing field for homeowners who otherwise would not appeal their assessments because it is too intimidating, too confusing, and too hard to find the data they need to win their appeal,” said Charlie Walsh, ValueAppeal Founder and CEO. “We are very encouraged by the success rates our customers have seen in our initial counties and are excited to expand ValueAppeal’s offering to a nationwide footprint. Our additional funding will support this continued growth and our customer acquisition efforts, which involve direct consumer outreach as well as targeted partnerships with other organizations whose users could benefit substantially from ValueAppeal’s services.”

ValueAppeal takes homeowners through five easy steps, which typically require less than 10 minutes total:

1. Homeowners enter their home address on the ValueAppeal.com site, where they instantly receive a result of ‘eligible’ or ‘not eligible’ for a property tax appeal based on analysis of comparable sales data, as well as when their respective local appeals windows are open. Homeowners may only proceed to Step 2 if their homes are deemed ‘eligible.’ ValueAppeal actually determines that approximately 75% of homeowners are ‘not eligible’ for an appeal, saving them the time and expense of filing an appeal without a strong case. ValueAppeal also provides an assessment monitoring service to alert users when their respective local appeal windows are open, as most counties have limited and/or designated time periods during which homeowners may file appeals.

2. Eligible homeowners review the calculation of their estimated savings and then pay a one-time $99 fee (with a 100% money-back guarantee if the customer is unsuccessful in their appeal) to proceed further. ValueAppeal does not allow homeowners to use its service unless it determines in advance that the homeowner can save a minimum of $300, so there is a minimum built-in return on investment.

3. Customers use the ValueAppeal comp analysis tool to choose the best 5-8 comparable homes (“comps”) out of the pool of 15 comps suggested by ValueAppeal’s comp selection algorithm.

4. Customers use the ValueAppeal custom report builder to create a clear, concise, and attractive presentation.

5. Customers print their custom report and mail-in the appeal package to their local assessor, along with the county appeal form ValueAppeal has pre-filled for them.

Factors in a Property-Tax Appeal:

The deciding factors in most successful assessment appeals lie in the quality of the 5-8 comps provided to justify a lower assessment. ValueAppeal’s algorithm factors in number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, construction quality, view, location, and numerous other variables in addition to cost-per-square-foot to select the most relevant comps. It considers and weights each attribute of the comp relative to the subject property. ValueAppeal obtains its data directly from local counties, ensuring that homeowners have immediate access to the same data that counties use in formulating their assessments.

ValueAppeal is unique to the marketplace in obtaining and integrating data directly from counties and then performing internal proprietary analysis of whether a home is overassessed, using its comparable sales selection algorithm. ValueAppeal’s algorithm does not seek to determine the market value of a home; It builds a case for the lowest supportable assessed value of the home.

About ValueAppeal

ValueAppeal (www.valueappeal.com) is a pioneering property tax appeal service developed to help homeowners lower their property taxes. ValueAppeal’s proprietary and patent-pending technologies instantly analyze a designated property and identify, based on comparable property sales and other criteria, whether a property is overassessed. It then provides an easy-to-use process for homeowners to develop a complete tax appeal online in minutes, compared to the many hours or even days that a ‘traditional’ offline appeal requires. The service costs $99 and the company provides 100% refunds for any customers whose assessments are not lowered using ValueAppeal’s evidence. Based in Seattle, WA, ValueAppeal generates users through direct consumer channels and is developing strategic partnerships with other organizations whose customers could benefit directly from ValueAppeal’s services.