Is it possible to find out a seller's mortgage balance?

[Keith Cuddeback]

Hello Bigger Pockets.  

New to the process and working to find my first property. I have found a property on the MLS and looked at it with my realtor.

I estimated that my repair costs would be around 25k. I gave a low ball offer to start (35K below asking price, which was rejected). 

I'd like to find a way to find out the seller's loan balance and make a 2nd offer. I thought that offering loan balance plus closing cost could be enticing. Of course that total would have to be at or below my max asking price based on the BP calculators.  I thought about calling the listing broker directly, or asking my realtor to do it.

Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks

Keith Cuddeback

[John Teachout]

I think you're looking at the wrong basis to make offers. Run the numbers, figure out what you need to get the property for to make it work for you and offer that. If they say yes, then buy it. If they say no, then move on to the next one.