Why Does the Amount the Seller Owes Matter?

[Daniel Lemp]

Hey everybody, I'm brand new to real estate and I'm just learning about investing. Please forgive a really, really basic question, I'm just learning

I read that when considering an investment property, you need to know how much is owed on the house and how much equity the seller has. I read in one article that you should consider this moreso than the asking price.

Why do you need to know this? What impact will it have on me if the seller owes a lot or owes only a little on the house? How does that change my negotiations and what I will have to pay in order to own the house? Is it because I need to know what their baseline price is in order to be able to pay off their mortgage after closing, so I know what number they really couldn't go below?

Thanks everybody!