How a Property Tax Appeal Engagement Works
Four steps, in writing, from the first review to the invoice.
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Each property's fee in writing before you sign
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Nothing filed without your written instruction
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No invoice unless the taxes go down
Or call 720-722-2911
Four steps from first review to invoice
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01
Initial Consultation
Send the notice of value, or the address and county. Real property gets a written read within one week; business personal property gets a declaration memo within 30 days of receiving the county record card and your fixed-asset ledger, and always ahead of the protest deadline.
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02
Engagement letter
Each property's rate from the published matrix is in the letter before you sign. Nothing is filed without your written instruction.
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03
Filing and hearings
Assessor protest, county board, state board: SVA prepares and presents each case, built to national-firm valuation standards. Each escalation waits for your written instruction.
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04
Invoice from realized savings
The fee is a percentage of the tax actually saved. If the taxes do not go down, there is no invoice.
A national portfolio can test one state for one cycle: Single-State Pilot.
Every year after the first
A fresh review each year
Each year, when the new notices arrive, every property under engagement gets a fresh review and a written recommendation weeks ahead of the protest deadline.
Years not protested
In Colorado, years you did not protest can often be reopened by abatement petition for the two most recent levied years: in 2026 that is 2024 and 2025; in 2027, 2025 and 2026.
Abatement in the Colorado guideWhat we need from you
For the Initial Consultation
The notice of value, or the address and county.
For a filed real property appeal
The current rent roll, the last two years of operating statements, any recent appraisal, the closing statement if you bought within the cycle, and anything physical the county record does not show; about fifteen minutes per building.
For a business personal property account
A signed agent authorization, so SVA can pull the full property record card from the county, and your fixed-asset ledger.
What you will hear from us
- Written acknowledgment at signing: every property, its fee, its next deadline.
- A written status memo every month a file is active, with stage, next deadline, value protested, value achieved and tax at stake.
- A written checkpoint before anything is filed, before any settlement is accepted and after every decision.
- An email when your file changes stage.
- A direct line: 720-722-2911.
What the engagement letter contains
Eight terms, in writing before you sign.
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Per-property fee
Each property's rate is in the letter before signature.
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Expenses
Court filing fees and third-party experts, only if you choose to litigate, at cost with your prior approval.
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Written instruction
Nothing is filed, escalated or withdrawn without your written go-ahead, property by property, unless the letter gives standing authorization for assessor-level protests on named parcels.
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30-day termination
Either side, on thirty days' written notice, with no exit fee.
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No fee tail
If the engagement ends before an appeal is filed, you owe nothing on it.
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Audit support
Any position filed on SVA's recommendation is defended through county audit at no additional fee.
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Confidentiality
A mutual agreement, on your paper if you prefer, before any documents change hands.
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Your records
Client records never enter the published database or any marketing.
Questions before you start
Can I file the protest myself?
Yes, and for some properties you should. A clean data error often gets fixed at the assessor level without a hearing. If the right answer is file it yourself or file nothing, the memo says so in writing.
Can I start with a review instead of an appeal?
Yes. An engagement can begin with a written work product instead of an appeal: a business personal property declaration review, a diligence memo or a reserve figure. The scope is in writing, the findings are yours, and nothing is filed without your written instruction. What the Initial Consultation can answer is on the deliverables page.
I already have a firm. Can I still use the Initial Consultation?
Yes. Keep them. The memo is written so your firm of record can file and defend each finding, and no county is contacted without your written instruction. Moving a file later is one signature on a new agent authorization.
Who handles the hearing?
SVA prepares and presents every case, from the assessor protest through the county board and the state board. SVA attends Colorado and Utah hearings in person and takes on the other states case by case.
Can I use the Initial Consultation without hiring anyone?
Yes. The memo is yours to file yourself or to file nothing on. A fee exists only if you ask SVA to recover the money, and only from dollars actually saved.
Colorado 2027 notices mail about May 1; protests are due June 1. All deadlines
Start with an Initial Consultation
Send the notice of value, or the address and county. Nothing is filed without your written instruction.
Or call 720-722-2911