Ed,

If your question is correct, and the home has already been foreclosed on, technically, there is nothing owed on the home because the property is owned by the bank.

Regardless, what is owed on a home for non-foreclosures (short sales, pre-foreclosures, or just a normal home), has nothing to do with what it's worth. Comparable sold data in the neighborhood for similar homes will determine what the home is worth, and what you should consider offering.

If you still want to beat your head against a wall and figure out what the current outstanding mortgage value is, there are service providers who collect that data and serve it up, but they are fee based and often only available to agents. As a last resort, you could try a public records search, either online or at the county recorder's office. While most mortgages/liens need to be filed in the county recorder's office, they don't always list the mortgage amount.

Good luck,

Jeffrey

Sat May 17 2008, 20:06