"I opened the county notice expecting to fight for months. Appraise handed me a 47-page report, walked into the ARB hearing, and walked out with a $94,000 reduction. They never raised their voice. They didn't need to."
Margaret L. Okonkwo
Homeowner · Travis County, TX · Assessment Year 2025
−$94,000
Assessed Value Reduction
REPORT PREPARED AND TESTIMONY DELIVERED BY:
Robert D. Callahan, MAI, SRA · Appraise Valuation Group
Licensed in TX · Qualified Expert Witness, Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop Counties
600+
ARB Appearances
$2.1B
Value Contested
94%
Success Rate
Cases organized by dispute type.
Outcomes, not promises.
Every case below reflects an actual engagement. Client names are withheld per confidentiality agreements.
Property Tax Protest
−$187,000
Travis County, TX · 2025
Situation: Residential homeowner received notice of $1.24M assessed value on a 2,800 sq ft home. Comparable sales analysis revealed the county had ignored three arm's-length sales within 0.3 miles.
Outcome: ARB panel reduced assessed value by $187,000 following testimony on paired-sales adjustments.
Probate Valuation
Dispute Resolved
Williamson County, TX · 2024
Situation: Three-sibling estate dispute over a 40-acre lakefront parcel. Two prior appraisals differed by $320,000.
Outcome: Court accepted Appraise report as the controlling value. Estate closed within 60 days of filing.
Marital Dissolution
Accepted by Both Parties
Hays County, TX · 2025
Situation: Contested valuation of primary residence and investment duplex. Mediator required a neutral, USPAP-compliant opinion.
Outcome: Both parties accepted the Appraise report. Settlement executed without court intervention.
Commercial Tax Protest
−$800,000
Travis County, TX · 2025
Situation: Strip retail center assessed at $2.9M. Income approach analysis using actual lease data and market cap rates supported a significantly lower value.
Outcome: Assessment reduced to $2.1M following formal hearing. Annual tax savings of approximately $22,000.
Insurance Dispute
+$340,000 Recovery
Bastrop County, TX · 2024
Situation: Post-wildfire total loss. Insurer's replacement cost estimate fell $340,000 short of actual reconstruction costs for a custom-built home.
Outcome: Independent appraisal supported policyholder's position. Insurer settled at full reconstruction value.
Tell us your property and situation. We'll tell you if it's worth pursuing.
No commitment. No retainer until we accept your case.
How an expert witness walks a jury through evidence. Step by step.
Every phase produces a document. Every document survives cross-examination.
Case Assessment
We review your tax notice or dispute documents and pull preliminary comparable data. If the numbers suggest a defensible position, we accept the engagement. If they don't, we tell you directly — saving you the cost of a report that won't move the needle.
EVIDENCE PRODUCED
Assessment notice, prior appraisals, deed records, MLS pull
Property Inspection & Data Assembly
A licensed appraiser physically inspects the subject property. We photograph, measure, and document every condition factor that affects value — the items county assessors miss when they're working from satellite imagery and outdated data cards.
EVIDENCE PRODUCED
Field notes, photographs, ANSI-compliant sketch, condition ratings
Market Analysis & Adjustments
We identify the most comparable sales and apply market-derived adjustments for location, size, condition, and date of sale. Every adjustment is supported by paired-sales analysis — the same methodology used in litigation. No guesses. No round numbers.
EVIDENCE PRODUCED
Comparable sales grid, paired-sales support, regression analysis
Report Preparation
The final report is a USPAP-compliant, court-ready document. It includes a cover letter summarizing the key findings, a full appraisal report with exhibits, and a one-page executive summary designed for review board presentation.
EVIDENCE PRODUCED
USPAP Form 1004 or narrative report, exhibits, executive summary
Hearing Representation
For tax protests, Robert Callahan appears at the Appraisal Review Board hearing and presents the findings. He has done this six hundred times. He anticipates the board's questions before they're asked. He does not send associates.
EVIDENCE PRODUCED
Sworn testimony, exhibit presentation, cross-examination response
Here's what it's actually worth.
Describe your property and situation. We review within one business day. If we believe the numbers support your position, we accept the engagement and begin immediately.
No retainer until we accept your case · USPAP Compliant · Confidential
We handle the following dispute types