I’ll defer to your knowledge of Prop 13 because my info is secondhand; my friend seemed to be describing a specific outcome that is being mirrored here in NJ.
For seniors the problem in NJ is that if you basically use your equity to pay your bills then the property taxes alone (even frozen at the level at which you reached 65) would quickly eat away your stake. $10k property tax bills (of which 75% goes to local schools) just isn’t attractive to anyone in the age of McJobs or Social Security...
I have never understood the kind of property tax bills I’ve heard about in places like NJ and NY. Especially considering that they also have income taxes and sales taxes, so they do not even have the excuse that TX and FL do.
In CA you would need to be buying an $800K home to be faced with a $10K property tax bill.