Property tax relief fintech attracts $50M capital raise

Ownwell, a fintech platform designed to assist homeowners with property tax appeals, completed a Series B round, the latest 2026 funding announcement for companies focused on finding homeownership savings. 

The $50 million raise for the Austin, Texas-based company included $30 million of equity in the round, which was led by Alpha Edison and Mercato Partners. Additional participation came  from six other firms. The total also provides $20 million in debt financing from Western Alliance Bank. 

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Founded in 2020, Ownwell has raised $74 million to date. 

"So many people are unable to afford a home, and those that own property can barely keep up with the three primary costs of ownership: property taxes, mortgage payments and home insurance," Ownwell CEO and founder Colton Pace said in a press release. 

"Investment firms and big real estate companies have lawyers and experts who know the ins and outs of local policies to earn large savings. We're bringing that same expertise to the average homeowner with the click of a button."

The company plans to use this new capital to expand product development and efforts to reach homeowners across the U.S. outside the seven core states where it already provides full services: California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Texas and Washington. 

The company operates on a win-contingency revenue model, taking 25% of savings earned for homeowners. Ownwell has reduced property tax bills by an average of $774 in the seven states and processed over one million requests, it said. 

Alongside the funding news, the company also unveiled a national appeals packet, a tech-backed filing product that simplifies a homeowner's ability to contest property tax charges in any state, making use of artificial intelligence and Ownwell proprietary data. 

"We look for companies that don't just participate in markets, but redefine them," Mercato Partners managing director Ryan Sanders said. "Ownwell has turned a notoriously opaque, manual, labor-intensive process into a high-growth digital platform."

In addition to property tax appeal services, Ownwell also provides utility bill, mortgage and home insurance management. 

Property taxes posing challenges for homeowners

Ownwell's investment comes as the spotlight is turning to the impact of property taxes on home affordability over the past 12 months. Homeowners paid an average of $4,172 in property taxes in 2024, according to real estate data intelligence platform Attom.

In 2025, lawmakers in at least six states introduced various proposals aimed at providing tax relief for homeowners, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at one point even going as far to suggest eliminating them altogether.

In its own survey last year, Ownwell found only 22% of homeowners ever appealed property taxes, even though close to three-quarters said the rising amounts raised financial worries. 

On a similar note, research from Cotality last summer also found the rate of tax delinquencies rising by 27% since 2019.

Ownwell's investment arrives as venture capital firms have taken a noticeable interest this year in technology development focused on mortgage-adjacent housing costs, such as taxes, insurance and closing.  

Prior to Ownwell's announcement, two different platforms aimed at simplifying property-records searches and title delivery attracted VC dollars in the first few weeks of 2026. In each case, investors pointed to inefficient, cumbersome processes that offer little in the form of cost relief but still slow transaction speeds, necessitating development of technology solutions. 

The latest capital raise for Ownwell also comes after the company embarked on a recent partnership deal with mortgage servicing and software firm Valon, with the agreement helping the latter company's customers identify possible tax overassessments on their homes.