Protest & informal review
Julie files your protest, requests the evidence the appraisal district plans to use, and builds your case with sales, equity comparables and condition issues. Many accounts settle at the informal meeting.
Serving property owners across Texas
Protecting the value of what you've built.
Property tax protests, ARB hearings and binding arbitration — led by Julie Nicholson, who spent more than 22 years inside Texas appraisal districts and now works for property owners.
- 22+
- years inside Texas appraisal districts
- One
- consultant on your file, start to finish.
Services
From the first protest to the final word.
Every account gets the same careful, documented case — whether it settles in an informal meeting or goes all the way to arbitration.
Appraisal Review Board hearings
If the district won't make a fair offer, Julie presents your case before the ARB panel with a clear, documented argument — the same kind of evidence she evaluated from the other side of the table for two decades.
Binding arbitration
Unhappy with your ARB order? Binding arbitration puts your value before an independent arbitrator instead of the district. Julie handles the filing, the evidence and the hearing. Ask how the filing deposit works.
Owners with more than one home
Rental or second homes anywhere in Texas? One consultant, one set of paperwork, every account tracked through every deadline. Ask about the multi-property rate.
Pricing
Sign up for 2027.
Reserve your representation for the 2027 tax year. A flat fee based on your property's value, plus 30% of any tax savings achieved through your representation.
Under $500K
$100
flat fee+ 30% of any tax savings
$500K – $1.25M
$200
flat fee+ 30% of any tax savings
$1.25M – $2.5M
$300
flat fee+ 30% of any tax savings
Or choose premier service, which includes an on-site review, for an additional $500 ($800 total). The 30% of any tax savings stays the same.
$2.5M and above
$400
flat fee+ 30% of any tax savings
Or choose premier service, which includes an on-site review, for an additional $500 ($900 total). The 30% of any tax savings stays the same.
A straightforward fee structure.
A flat professional fee covers your representation, research, preparation, and protest. If I successfully reduce your property taxes, an additional 30% of the resulting tax savings is due. If there are no tax savings, there is no contingency fee.
Own more than one property? Ask about the multi-property rate. Every term is in a written agreement before any work begins.
Anyone can file a protest. Knowing which argument will actually move your value is what you're paying for.
“The review takes me hours. Knowing what to look for took 22 years.”— Julie Nicholson
Binding arbitration
Received an ARB order you disagree with? Arbitration is handled case by case. Send Julie your order and she'll tell you whether you qualify and whether it's worth pursuing.
The review
What I Actually Review
A property tax protest isn't just about finding a lower number. It's about determining whether the appraisal district's value is supported by the available evidence.
7 points of review
Market & Comparable Evidence
- Comparable sales
- Equity comparisons
- Neighborhood trends
- Market evidence
- Outliers
- Comp selection
- Sales used by the appraisal district
7 points of review
Property Characteristics
- Size and quality
- Effective age
- Condition
- Functional characteristics
- Improvement characteristics
- Land value
- Changes to the property
7 points of review
Record & Valuation Review
- Property record accuracy
- Prior-year valuation
- Potential data errors
- 1-d-1 appraisal
- Wildlife valuation
- Exemption status and eligibility
- Tax statement billing reconciliation
Every property is different. The evidence that matters most depends on the property, the market, and the facts surrounding the valuation.
See How Sentinel Works →How I work
A Few Things You Should Know About Sentinel
I believe good representation starts with honesty. That means telling a property owner what I believe—not simply telling them what they want to hear.
I Don't Promise a Specific Reduction
Every property and every case is different. I can evaluate the evidence, but I cannot promise a particular outcome.
I Don't Take Every Case
If I don't believe I can provide meaningful value, I'll tell you.
I Don't Tell You to Protest Simply Because You Can
A protest should have a reason behind it. My goal is to determine whether the evidence supports challenging the valuation.
I Don't Use the Same Argument for Every Property
A successful strategy should be based on the property—not a cookie-cutter argument.
I Don't Outsource Your Case to a Call Center
Your case is handled personally and thoughtfully rather than passed through a high-volume call-center model.
I Don't Recommend Arbitration Simply Because It's Available
Arbitration is another legal avenue, not automatically the right answer. I'll consider whether it makes sense based on the circumstances of the case.
Respect for the process
Advocacy Doesn't Require an Adversary
I have spent much of my career on the appraisal-district side of the property tax process, so I understand the work that goes into valuing thousands of properties. Appraisal district staff have a difficult job, and most are working within the information, procedures, and resources available to them.
Sentinel's role is simply different. I now advocate for the property owner. That means asking questions, examining the evidence, identifying discrepancies when they exist, and making the strongest reasonable case for the property owner—while treating appraisal district staff with professionalism and respect.
The goal isn't to fight the appraisal district. The goal is to get to the most supportable value.
How it works
Four steps. You handle one of them.
- 01
Free review
Send your address. Julie pulls your account, your neighborhood's sales and the district's own data, and tells you honestly whether a protest is worth it.
- 02
Sign & file
You sign a representation agreement and Form 50-162 naming Sentinel as your agent. Julie files your protest and handles every notice from there.
- 03
Build the case
Comparable sales, equity analysis, condition and data errors — assembled into an evidence packet the district and the panel can follow.
- 04
Negotiate & represent
Julie meets with the appraiser, attends your ARB hearing if needed, and advises you on arbitration if the result still isn't fair.
About Julie
I know how the other side works — because I worked every level of it.
I got my start at the Van Zandt County Appraisal District, digging through deed records in the courthouse basement and scanning ag applications. I moved up to appraisal secretary, then appraiser, and over the years to senior appraiser, appraisal director and deputy chief. Starting at the ground floor taught me how every property record begins, long before anyone puts a value on it.
Most of my experience comes from Collin Central Appraisal District, where as a senior appraiser I handled more than $6 billion in property value. Over 22 years I've seen how a value is set from the first deed record to the final sign-off — and exactly where it can go wrong.
Now I put that experience to work for property owners. Sentinel is small and independent on purpose: I personally review every account, prepare every evidence packet and represent every client. No call centers, no hand-offs.
“The appraisal district has a process. You deserve someone who knows it just as well.”
More About Me
I'm a sixth-generation Texan. My family has been in Van Zandt County since the 1850s, and I started my own career there, in the basement of an East Texas courthouse, researching deeds.
Six generations teaches you something about this place: Texas has always been built by people who came from somewhere else. Mine came from Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Missouri, and all the way from Bohemia, in what is now the Czech Republic. Some arrived in the 1850s. Some of my clients arrived last year. Every one of them made a home here, and every one of those homes deserves a fair value on the tax roll.
So here is my promise. When you hire me, you get the same preparation, the same effort and the same respect as every other client. It doesn't matter where you're from, how long you've been here, what language you speak at home, who you love, or who you share your home with. Your family is your family, and your home is your home. I'm here to protect the value of what you've built.
Got an ARB order you don't agree with?
Binding arbitration has a short filing window after you receive your order. Send it to Julie and she'll tell you whether it's worth pursuing.
Missed the protest deadline?
Some errors can still be corrected.
Once the protest deadline passes, the appraisal roll is generally final. Section 25.25 of the Texas Tax Code leaves two narrow ways to correct it. They don't apply often, but when they do, Julie can estimate what a correction would save you before you decide.
Factual errors
For clear-cut mistakes on the record, not opinions of value: a clerical error, the same property appraised twice, a structure that did not exist on January 1, or the wrong owner. A correction can reach back through the five preceding tax years.
Substantial overvaluation
For the current tax year only, filed before the taxes become delinquent. The appraised value must be more than one-fourth over the correct value for a homestead, or more than one-third over for other property. It is not available if the value was already decided in a protest or settled by agreement, and a 10% late-correction penalty applies to the corrected tax.
Not every account qualifies. Send your property and what you believe is wrong, and Julie will tell you plainly whether a correction is available.
Tax rate alerts
Know before your rates are set.
Your value is only half of your tax bill. Every summer, your city, county, school district and other taxing units propose their tax rates and hold public hearings before adopting them. Most owners never hear about it until the bill arrives.
Sign up and Julie will email you when the units for your property propose their rates: what they posted, what it means for your bill, when the hearings are, whether a rate is high enough to go to the voters, and the final rate each one adopts. Free, never sold, and you can opt out any time.
Questions
Frequently asked
Sign up for 2027 · Free property review
Find out if you're paying more than your share.
Tell Julie about your property. She'll review your value against the district's own data and let you know — plainly — whether a protest makes sense.
- (469) 224-4600
- julie@sentinelpta.com
- Julie Nicholson on LinkedIn
- Serving property owners across Texas
Schedule a call
Rather talk it through?
Choose a day and time that suits you. Julie confirms every call herself, so you'll receive a calendar invitation by email once she has approved it.
Calls are 15 minutes: weekdays between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m., Saturdays between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Central.