An appeal isn't an argument about how you feel — it's a small case built on facts. Whether you file a First Level Review or a formal BRT appeal, the reviewer decides on the evidence in front of them. Get the evidence right and everything else follows. Here's exactly what to gather.
Almost every winning residential appeal rests on some mix of three things: comparable sales that show what your home is actually worth, documentation of condition problems that pull that value down, and factual errors in the official record that inflated your assessment in the first place. A strong appeal usually leans on at least two of the three. Let's take them in order of impact.
This is the heart of the case. The Office of Property Assessment sets your value with a mass-appraisal model, and the cleanest way to show that model got it wrong is to point to what genuinely similar homes near you actually sold for. "Comparable" is doing real work in that sentence: a good comp matches your home on size, age, construction type, condition, and block, and it sold recently. A renovated house or one across a neighborhood boundary isn't comparable, even if the address looks close on a map. Our deep dive on finding comparable sales covers how to pick them well.
Mass appraisal assumes a property is in typical condition for its type and age. If yours isn't — a failing roof, foundation cracks, an unfinished basement the model counted as living space, serious deferred maintenance — that assumption inflated your value. Photograph the problems clearly and, where you can, attach a contractor's repair estimate. A photo of water damage plus a $14,000 estimate is concrete; "the house needs work" is not.
These are the sleeper wins. Your OPA record lists specific characteristics — square footage, lot size, number of units, year built — and any of them can simply be wrong. An overstated square footage or a duplex logged as a triplex directly drives an inflated value, and correcting it is an objective, hard-to-argue-with point. Start by reading your record closely; our guide to reading your assessment notice shows where these figures live.
The strongest appeals aren't the loudest. They're the ones where three tight comparable sales and one wrong number in the record do the talking.
Look up your property in the OPA record and check every characteristic against reality — square footage, lot size, unit count, year built, and stated condition. Any figure that's wrong is potential evidence, so note it now.
Identify recent sales of nearby homes that match yours on size, age, type, and condition. Favor close, recent, and similar over distant or renovated. These comps are the spine of your appeal.
Photograph any condition problems that reduce value and gather repair estimates where possible. Focus on issues the assessment clearly didn't account for.
List every objective error you found in Step 1 and gather anything that proves the correct figure — a survey, floor plan, prior appraisal, or permit record.
Use your comparable sales, adjusted for any condition or record issues, to land on the specific market value you're requesting. Ask for a number your evidence supports, not the lowest figure you can imagine — a realistic ask reads as credible.
Order the materials so the argument reads itself: a short summary up top, then your comparable sales, then condition and error documentation, then your requested value. Keep a full copy. When you're ready to write the cover statement, our appeal letter template gives you a fill-in-the-blank structure, and the appeal packet walkthrough shows the finished shape.
Usually not, for a residential appeal. Comparable sales plus documented condition or record issues are typically enough to make your case. A formal appraisal is an option for complex or high-value properties, but it's an added cost, not a requirement — don't let the idea of one stop you from filing.
Every step above is research, and research is the part that eats a weekend or sends people to a paid consultant. TaxAssessmentIQ does it for you: it pulls your live OPA record, surfaces the record fields worth checking, finds real comparable sales, and packages the whole thing into a BRT-ready evidence packet. You review it, sign it, and send it — keeping all of any savings. No tool can guarantee an appeal will win, but a clean, well-evidenced packet is the version that gives you the best shot.
Comparable sales are the core. Recent sales of genuinely similar homes near you, matched on size, age, type, and condition, are the strongest way to show your assessed value is out of line with the market.
There is no fixed number, but a handful of tight, recent, truly similar sales is more persuasive than a long list of loosely related ones. Quality and comparability matter far more than quantity.
Yes, and they are among the strongest evidence you can bring. If your OPA record overstates your square footage, lot size, or unit count, correcting that objective error can directly support a lower value.
Yes, when condition problems reduce your value. Photos of a failing roof, structural issues, or serious deferred maintenance, ideally paired with repair estimates, help show why your home is worth less than the model assumed.
Not usually for a residential appeal. Comparable sales and documented condition or record issues are typically enough. A formal appraisal is an option for complex cases but is not required to file.
TaxAssessmentIQ gives you a free, honest verdict from the City's own recorded sales — just enter your address, no sign-up and no account. If your home looks over-assessed, you can get a ready-to-file appeal packet for a flat, one-time price, backed by a money-back guarantee. If it isn't worth filing, we tell you that too — for free, before you pay anything.