ATALI ELECTRIC vs Manual county research
ATALI ELECTRIC vs building appeal evidence by hand
Manual research is how most consultants learned the trade, and it still produces the local judgment a board respects. It is also why a single commercial parcel takes 12 to 25 billable hours to build (IPT Practice Survey). ATALI ELECTRIC keeps the analyst's judgment and removes the retyping, form filling and deadline bookkeeping around it.
What it is
Manual research means building each appeal from primary sources: downloading the assessor's property record card and any published valuation worksheets, pulling deeds and transfer records from the recorder or clerk, collecting comparable assessments parcel by parcel from the assessor's search page or bulk data files (such as HCAD's public data downloads or the Cook County Assessor's commercial valuation dataset on the county open data portal), and assembling the income, sales and uniformity analysis in spreadsheets before typing the results into the county's appeal form. The data is free or low cost and the analyst sees every number, but every step repeats for every parcel and every county.
| Dimension | ATALI ELECTRIC | Manual county research |
|---|---|---|
| Assessment notice intake | OCR ingestion of the notice: PIN/APN, assessed value, class and tax rate extracted and checked against the assessor record | Values retyped from the notice and the property record card into a working file |
| Parcel characteristics | Building area, class, year built and land-to-building ratio gathered into one parcel record | Collected from the assessor search page, GIS viewer and site plans for each parcel |
| Income approach | P&Ls and rent rolls normalized (debt service, depreciation, leasing commissions and capital items removed), market vacancy and reserves applied, loaded cap rate calculated | Built in a spreadsheet per property; consistency depends on the analyst and the template in use |
| Sales comparables | Adjusted grid from verified arms-length sales with size, age, condition, location, parking ratio and market conditions adjustments | Sales found through deed records and broker calls, verified by phone and adjusted by hand |
| Equity uniformity | Comparable assessments arranged into a uniformity matrix with median adjusted value per sq ft, formatted for remedies such as Texas Tax Code §42.26(a)(3) | Comparable parcels searched one at a time, with adjustments and the median calculated manually |
| County forms | Official county forms filled from the parcel record and the evidence | Forms downloaded and completed by hand for each filing |
| Evidence binder | 20-page hearing-ready binder assembled automatically: summary, income pro forma, sales grid, uniformity matrix and exhibits | Schedules and exhibits printed, collated and paginated by staff |
| Deadline tracking | Statutory filing windows, hearing dates, settlement offers and board determinations tracked per parcel | Calendar reminders and a deadline spreadsheet maintained by hand |
| Evidence prep time | 16 hours to 20 minutes per parcel (ATALI ELECTRIC customer results) | 12 to 25 billable hours per parcel (IPT Practice Survey) |
| Analyst control | Every comparable, adjustment and assumption can be overridden, and each override is logged with its reason | Full control, with the reasoning held in individual files and staff memory |
| Audit trail | Source documents, overrides and binder versions stored with the parcel | Depends on file naming and folder discipline across the team |
| Direct cost | From $499/mo billed annually, or $199 per appeal packet on demand | County data is mostly free; the cost is staff time, plus records request fees where a county charges them |
Choose Manual county research when
- -You file a handful of appeals a year in one county you know well and have the hours to build each case.
- -The parcel is a one-of-a-kind special-purpose property where the case rests on site-specific documents and appraisal judgment.
- -The engagement calls for a USPAP appraisal report signed by a licensed appraiser, which ATALI ELECTRIC does not issue.
- -The county's records you need exist only on paper or at the counter.
Choose ATALI ELECTRIC when
- You handle dozens or hundreds of commercial parcels across several counties with fixed filing windows.
- You want the same normalization rules and adjustment logic applied to every parcel, with exceptions documented.
- You need a deadline record that survives staff turnover and busy season.
- Contingency billing depends on tracking assessed value, final value and realized savings parcel by parcel.
Using both, or switching over
- Step 1
Start with the parcels you already know
Upload this year's notices alongside the files you built by hand. ATALI ELECTRIC extracts PINs and values and ranks parcels by the gap between assessed value and indicated value, so you can see where your manual work and the audit agree.
- Step 2
Carry your local judgment into the grid
Your preferred comparables, cap rate support and adjustments come in as overrides, each logged with its source, so the next analyst can follow the reasoning without asking.
- Step 3
Let the forms and binder assemble
Once the evidence is approved, the county form and the hearing binder are generated from the same parcel record, which removes the retyping step where transcription errors creep in.
- Step 4
Move deadlines into one calendar
Filing windows, hearing dates and settlement offers for every parcel sit in the Deadline Tracker, replacing individual reminders and spreadsheets.
Questions
Does ATALI ELECTRIC use the same data I would pull by hand?
It works from the same public records, the assessor's characteristics and values and recorded transfers, plus market data you license and bring in, such as CoStar exports or ATTOM. Every figure in the binder shows its source and retrieval date, so you can check it the way you would check your own work.
Will a board accept a software-assembled evidence binder?
Boards weigh the evidence, not the tool that formatted it. The binder cites sources for each comparable and each normalization, and the owner, consultant or attorney who files it reviews and presents it. ATALI ELECTRIC does not represent anyone at hearings.
Can I keep using my own spreadsheets?
Yes. Rent rolls, P&Ls and comparable lists import from Excel, and every schedule exports back to Excel, so existing templates can stay in use while the team moves over.
Does ATALI ELECTRIC replace a licensed appraiser?
No. ATALI ELECTRIC produces valuation evidence and appeal packages; it does not issue USPAP appraisal reports signed by a licensed appraiser. Where a jurisdiction or a client requires one, the appraiser can work from the same data.
Stop overpaying commercial property tax on a flawed mass appraisal.
Upload an assessment notice. ATALI ELECTRIC returns a valuation audit and comp analysis in about two minutes.