One sneaky way to do it is to have a tenant sign an "I have vacated the property and have completed my walkthrough inspection with the landlord as of X date.

To be honest, I saw some of the text on their site and the English felt a bit broken.

I am currently in research mode - listening to podcasts, reading forum and other info on this site, etc. 

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga.Average home price: $234,2493-year population growth: 4.9%2-year job growth: 5.1%1-year home price growth: 8%3-year price growth forecast: 24%Homes are undervalued by 7% compared to the historic ratio of price and local income.Source:https://www.forbes.com/sites/samanthasharf/2018/02...

I stumbled upon this site from the research I've been doing on real estate.

I told everyone who would listen what I was looking for in person over the phone through email and on social networking sites.

I suppose that you could make some guesses as to what is currently owed by looking at the date and amount of the last mortgage that was placed on the property,  however your best source of information about mortgage value would be this homeowner.  

Unless you can get something *in writing* from prev owner preferably with pictures and notations with dates you will lose.

Creditor name, date entered, amount, attorneys fees if any, interest... you would reach out to the creditor for a written payoff statement and release (once paid).

Definitely utilize everything the site has to offer (forums, blogs, podcasts, webinars, etc.).