Kensington Research & Recovery

What Kensington Research & Recovery does

Kensington Research and Recovery, Inc. is a privately held, family-owned property tax appeal and government refund recovery firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1999 by E.J. Dal Bello and Nella Piccolin, the company helps property owners reduce over-assessed property tax bills and recover unclaimed refunds owed by government agencies. It serves residential homeowners, condo owners and associations, commercial and industrial property owners, and multi-property investors across two regional markets: Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will, and Boone Counties in Illinois, and Harris County in Texas (Houston), with a mailing office in Houston and a headquarters office at 318 W Adams St in Chicago.

The firm's core technology is a proprietary property tax appeal algorithm developed and refined since 1999 that analyzes assessed values against comparable property sales data to generate valuation estimates, which are then used by trained analysts to construct property-specific appeals. The algorithm is updated based on outcomes from thousands of appeals, creating a compounding dataset advantage in its core markets. A separate Government Refund Service researches public records to identify overcharges and unclaimed refunds owed to individuals and businesses, recovering funds on a contingency basis.

Kensington operates on a contingency-based pricing model with no upfront fees: property tax appeal clients pay 50% of first-year savings (with multi-year reassessment cycles extending the underlying tax reduction), and government refund clients pay 50% of any recovered amount. The company acquires customers primarily through direct phone, web form submissions, and in-person consultations, supplemented by SEO, content marketing, blog publishing, social media, and proactive outreach to property owners identified through public records. The firm operates with 11–50 employees, has filed over 35,000 successful appeals saving clients more than $25 million cumulatively, and reports a 90%+ success rate. A sister company, Kensington Lending Services, provides adjacent mortgage and refinancing services.

Name

Kensington Research & Recovery

Legal name

Kensington Research and Recovery, Inc.

Website

https://kensington-research.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kensington Research & Recovery is a Chicago-based, family-owned firm that uses a proprietary algorithm and contingency-based pricing to file property tax appeals and recover government refunds for residential and commercial property owners in Illinois and Texas.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Property Tax Appeal Services

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAJANAK

Real Estate Valuation Review & Litigation/Dispute Support Advisory

Business & Public Services/Real Estate Services (Brokerage, Property Management)/Real Estate Advisory & Consulting (Investment, Strategy)

SECONDARYFSAEADAH

Claims Advocacy & Loss Recovery Services

Financial & Insurance/Financial Advisory, Brokerage & Intermediation/Insurance Brokerage & Risk Advisory

Keywords

• Property tax appeals
• Property tax protest
• Government refund recovery
• Tax assessment reduction
• Unclaimed asset recovery

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Property Tax Appeal Services: Contingency-based property tax appeal services where the company charges 50% of the first year's tax savings. No fees are charged if the appeal is unsuccessful. Cook County townships are reassessed on a triennial basis, and savings may last 1-3 years depending on reassessment timing.
2. Government Refund Recovery: Contingency-based government refund recovery services. The company researches public records to identify overcharges and overpayments owed to individuals or businesses. If successful, the typical fee is 50% of any recovered amount. No upfront charges if recovery fails.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Kensington Research & Recovery provides contingency-based property tax appeal and government refund recovery services. Using a proprietary algorithm refined since 1999, the company analyzes property assessments, identifies over-assessments through comparable property data, and files appeals on behalf of homeowners, condo owners, commercial property owners, and property managers in Chicago/Northern Illinois and Houston/Harris County, Texas. The firm also recovers unclaimed government refunds for individuals and businesses on a no-recovery, no-fee basis.

Product overview

Kensington Research & Recovery operates two core service lines: a Property Tax Appeal Service spanning Chicago/Northern Illinois (Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will Counties) and Houston/Harris County, Texas; and a Government Refund Service for unclaimed asset recovery. The Property Tax Appeal Service uses a proprietary algorithm and comparable property analysis developed over 25+ years to identify over-assessments and advocate for reduced property tax bills. The company serves residential homeowners, condo associations, commercial property owners, and property managers with a contingency-based fee structure (no upfront costs, 50% of first-year savings upon success). Services include specialized Condo Property Tax Appeal Service requiring board approval, Commercial Property Tax Appeal Service with income/expense analysis, and Tax Appeals for Property Managers for multi-property portfolios.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Property Tax Appeal Service (Chicago / Northern Illinois)
• Government Refund Recovery Service
• Condo Property Tax Appeal Service
• Commercial Property Tax Appeal Service
• Tax Appeals for Property Managers
• Houston / Harris County Property Tax Protest Service

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 90% success rate on property tax appeals and protests
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Kensington Lending ServicesminorOthersSister company providing mortgage services. NMLS # 2569909. Helps customers find the best deal on home financing or refinancing to save on mortgage expenses. Complementary service to property tax appeal work.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Popp Hutcheson PLLC: Texas property tax law firm representing commercial and residential owners in appraisal district protests. Direct competitor to Kensington in Texas, differentiated by operating as a law firm with full litigation capability at the district court level.
• Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta LLP: Texas-based law firm with a focused property tax practice representing owners before appraisal review boards and courts. Direct peer in Texas, especially on complex commercial and institutional property tax disputes.
• O'Connor & Associates: Long-established Houston-based property tax consulting firm serving commercial and residential clients across Texas. Direct competitor to Kensington in the Houston/Harris County market with a comparable contingency-style fee model and similar appeal expertise.
• Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson LLP: Major Texas-based property tax law firm with deep county-by-county appraisal district relationships. Direct competitor to Kensington in Harris County and broader Texas markets, particularly on the commercial and institutional side.
• McCreary, Veselka, Bragg & Allen, P.C. Texas law firm with one of the state's largest property tax practices, representing commercial owners in appraisal district protests. Direct competitor to Kensington in Texas markets with comparable contingency-style engagement models.
• Ownwell: Tech-enabled property tax appeal startup that helps homeowners file and win appeals on a contingency basis. Directly competes with Kensington's core residential service in overlapping markets, using technology to scale where Kensington relies on analyst-driven processes.

Broad incumbents

• H&R Block: National consumer tax preparation giant that has expanded into adjacent tax-related services. Broad incumbent adjacent to Kensington rather than a direct property tax appeal competitor, but represents a potential platform threat if it bundles property tax advisory into its consumer offering.
• Ryan, LLC: Large global tax services and consulting firm with a substantial property tax practice serving enterprise and mid-market clients. Competes with Kensington on commercial property tax engagements while offering a much broader tax advisory portfolio.
• Altus Group: Public commercial real estate consulting firm with a dedicated property tax advisory practice. Broad incumbent that overlaps with Kensington's commercial appeal work while primarily serving institutional CRE owners and investors.

Emerging players

• TaxBird: Emerging property tax appeal platform focused on select U.S. markets with a tech-led, lower-fee model. Competes with Kensington's residential appeal service, especially among digitally-native homeowners who prefer self-serve tools.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/KensingtonRR
• Facebookfacebook.com/126078550780157
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/997234

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kensington Research & Recovery