Why NBHDer exists
A personal experience. A public mission.

I watched my parents fall into a gap that should not have existed.

That experience became the beginning of NBHDer—and a conviction that homeowners deserve property-tax information they can understand and use.

Zerick CampbellFounder, NBHDer · Real Property Appraiser
NBHDer founder Zerick Campbell standing outside a home
ZERICK CAMPBELLFounder, NBHDer

The amount looked official.
Understanding was missing.

When my parents became homeowners, they received a property-tax bill for their newly constructed home. Like many homeowners, they assumed the amount was correct and complete.

What they could not see was that the property had initially been assessed while it was still under construction. The assessed value had not yet caught up with the completed home, so the tax amount was lower than it would eventually become.

They did not know to examine the property record card. They did not know what the assessed value should reasonably look like, what information might be missing, or that they could ask questions about the notice and use the appeal process. When the assessment later reflected the completed home, they were left navigating an unexpected obligation, their mortgage company, and the tax office without the knowledge they needed to advocate effectively for themselves.

Nothing about their experience was caused by a lack of intelligence or responsibility. They simply had never been taught how the property-tax system worked.

The information may have been publicly available, but it had not reached them in a form they could recognize, understand, and act upon. That made the property-tax knowledge gap personal and undeniable to me.

02 What the work revealed

The help exists.
Too often, people do not know it.

My work in property assessment showed me the same gap from the public-service side. I began as a Field Lister in October 2017 and now serve as a Real Property Appraiser, with more than eight years of professional experience in the field.

I have watched older homeowners light up when they learned that a property-tax relief program might be available to them. Again and again, the response was some version of the same question: Why didn’t I know about this before?

Public employees can be deeply helpful once a resident reaches the right office or finds the right person to ask. But information cannot depend on someone already knowing which question to ask, which webpage to find, or which program may apply.

03 Turning experience into a tool

More information is not the same as understanding.

Property assessment has its own language, timelines, calculations, and procedures. Even professionals face a meaningful learning curve. Through field experience and IAAO coursework in appraisal and mass appraisal, I created diagrams and timelines to help myself understand how the pieces fit together.

As I worked through that process, I kept returning to one thought: homeowners would benefit from this too.

That realization helped shape NBHDer. The goal is not to place another document online. It is to make public information more understandable, keep important dates and official sources in view, and give people a clearer path from receiving information to knowing what they can do with it.

01

Understand

See unfamiliar assessment information in calmer, clearer language.

02

Prepare

Keep dates, questions, records, and official next steps within reach.

03

Participate

Approach the process with greater confidence and a more informed voice.

The outcome that matters What homeowners should feel

Property assessment should not feel like something that is simply done to you.

I want homeowners to leave NBHDer feeling empowered: able to review their information, ask better questions, keep important dates in view, and learn about programs that may become relevant as their circumstances change.

They have a voice. Appeal processes exist for them to use. Relief programs exist for qualifying homeowners to explore. Public records exist for them to review. NBHDer’s role is to help bring those opportunities into view and make the next step feel possible.

THE LONG VIEW

Success means the knowledge gap gets smaller.

NBHDer will have fulfilled its mission when more homeowners understand their property information, discover available relief, participate confidently in the process, and feel better prepared to make decisions affecting their homes.

Closing the property tax knowledge gap.
Neighborhood by neighborhood.
PROFESSIONAL INDEPENDENCE

Zerick Campbell’s professional experience informs NBHDer’s educational mission. NBHDer is an independent venture and does not represent, speak for, or imply endorsement by any current or former public employer. NBHDer does not provide legal, tax, or appraisal advice.

A CLEARER EXPERIENCE STARTS WITH A CONVERSATION.

Help bring property-tax knowledge closer to home.

FOR PARTNERS & ORGANIZATIONSStart a conversation→FOR HOMEOWNERSExplore the pilot↗