Dear Valued Clients,
As we’ve mentioned in our last few statement emails and blog posts there are exciting changes coming to the protest process. The time has come to put those changes into place in order to get set up for the 2022 protest season.
The first step in the change will be to set up all of our clients who participate in the protests with an account directly with our partner, Home Tax Shield. They are second to none in their data driven methodology to the protest process, and we believe they will provide the best results for our clients while offering other benefits.
Home Tax Shield will set up a portal for each client that will give you the live protest status of your account(s). The results will be available in real time as the process takes place. Here is a sample portal showing what you will see for your account(s)-
You will continue to receive the same fee structure while working directly with them, however you now will no longer pay the $25 fee to Stone Oak!. The billing consists of the vendor charging a 30% contingency of savings, so for example, if the vendor achieves a tax savings of $100.00 their bill would be $30.00 and the remaining savings will be realized via reduction in your tax bill.
Payment for the protest will now be made directly to them via a credit card kept on file through their portal. This will be set up to auto charge once they issue the bills at the end of the protest season, and you’ll gain the benefit of earning points/rewards if offered through your card.
If Stone Oak management terminates your account for any reason, your account with the protest firm will revert to their standard fee structure of $30/per property per year plus a 30% contingency fee on any savings unless you cancel services with them prior to the protest being filed and generating billable savings.
In order to get this set up for the upcoming protest season we will be sending over your name, email, phone number, and property info so they can start setting up your account. Once it is set up you will receive an email inviting you to your portal and attaching a card to your account. From there all you have to do is bookmark the portal link and then keep an eye on it as the season progresses. If you want to make any changes to your account or get any info you can do that directly with them so there is no interim step as there has been in past years with contacting us for protests. We are still here to help if needed.
The data will be transferred on or before March 1st. If you’d like to review their Terms of Service or Privacy Policy you can do that here - Home Tax Shield
To summarize the process and benefits:
- We will provide your property and basic info to our partner (address, email. phone)
- They will set up your portal and invite you
- You will no longer be charged Stone Oak’s contingent flat fee
- You will continue to benefit from our low, negotiated protest contingency fee while you’re our client
- Your credit card will be kept on file for payment, and you’ll get the added benefit of points/rewards if applicable
- You will have control of your protest account, process, and can work directly with them if there are any questions, etc.
If you have any questions or want to make any changes to your account prior to this new process please let us know as soon as possible by contacting accounting[@]stoneoakpm.com , calling 512-617-6766 ext-4, or contacting your property manager.
