How I Discovered Free Money and Built AppealSeal

Two years ago, I stumbled upon something that changed my financial perspective: you can appeal your property tax assessed value in California. At the time, it seemed almost too simple to be true.

The Personal Discovery

I bought my home in San Francisco back in 2017 for $1.3 million, and like most homeowners, I'd never heard about property tax appeals. But when I looked into it, the process seemed relatively straightforward. So I decided to try.

For the past two years, I've appealed my property taxes annually. Each year, the County of San Francisco gave me about $2,500 back. That's real money—free money that was sitting right in front of me the whole time.

The Neighborhood Effect

Then something interesting happened. I started helping my neighbors with their appeals. They all qualified, and their returns were even better than mine. Because they'd purchased their homes later when interest rates were low, they were getting $5,000 to $6,000 back each year.

This is when it clicked for me: this wasn't just about my situation. There were probably hundreds of thousands of California homeowners who had no idea they could appeal their property taxes.

The Mission

This year, I set out on a mission: to help as many homeowners as possible appeal their property taxes and get money back.

I did deep research into how property tax appeals actually work in California. I found the official state document—the California Property Tax Appeals Board Guide—and studied it thoroughly. Then I made a decision: I would implement that entire guide in software.

Building AppealSeal

The result is AppealSeal: a service that makes property tax appeals accessible to everyone. Here's how it works:

1. Enter your address – Tell us where you live
2. Instant qualification check – See if you qualify for an appeal
3. Get your evidence – We provide all the data you need, built according to the official state guidelines
4. File with confidence – You get everything needed to file an appeal with high-quality evidence that's most likely to succeed—often without even needing to attend a hearing

Why This Matters

This is possibly the closest thing to free money available to homeowners. The appeals process is designed by the state, it's legitimate, and most people simply don't know about it.

I'm excited to help as many people as possible get their money back from their county—money they should have never paid in the first place.

Ready to check if you qualify? Start with your property address and discover your potential savings.