Sounds right. Your friend will have to get a few comp sales in the area and petition to the tax assessor.
If the Assessor reduced the taxes owed on every home in the area because of one REO sale, the whole system would come crashing down.
It is a catch 22. If the entire neighborhood crashes in value, they will all save a few thousand annually on their property taxes. Of course they will all need to lose tens of thousands in value to get their tax “savings”.
