Yields on Japanese bonds have remained low therefore it has been relatively easy to maintain their debt load.

I have a seller that have small loan took out last year at 6.5% and I'm trying to buy the property "subject to" and remained balance give him in cash.

And since you're buying in a solid suburban neighborhood at prices that are still well off the 2006 highs (presumably), and well below replacement costs, you are "nearly" assured of at least remaining flat on appreciation, and likely 2-3% annual growth.

If there is any doubt about it being able to remain in operation then you need to walk, with one exception - if there is public sewer at the road already.  

My husband called the lawyer at that point (I had him do it because he knows the mortgage industry much better than I do, and it turned out he and the lawyer had some colleagues in common.)Dealing with the lawyer was a little frustrating, because he was obviously pretty unfamiliar with sub2s and kept dramatically warning the seller about the potential pitfalls (the mortgage remains in his name, etc.)Eventually, we worked it out by putting these two clauses in the contract. 1) If we miss one payment, the seller can take the house back. 2) We will refinance into our names within three years.After the paperwork was finished, we mailed a check for $1,200 to the lawyer and he sent us the paperwork.After that, we did more waiting for the seller to be ready.I emailed the seller at the end of April reminding him the paperwork would expire at the end of the month and we'd need to have the docs updated if we didn't sign them before then.He said he needed another few weeks to get ready.

So, the other year or remaining months can be waived.Being self employed under contract is rather an exception and it depends on the company contracting the work.

If I were your friends, I would make an appointment to sit down with the attorney or title/closing agent who is handling the paperwork, and ask them to lay it out for me: What exactly are we waiting on, what are the remaining steps we need to take, how long do you expect this to take, and how can I help?

Is there a website/software I can use to find out the remaining amount seller owes on their mortgage?

If you don't have a newer receipt, the manufacturer will use the date on that sticker to determine if the heater is in warranty.I know it is possible to buy water heaters with a 3-year warranty; I don't know if shorter warranties exist, but they might.Even though you shut off the water valve on the input, it might still drip a little due to the water remaining in the tank. 

Generally speaking, contracts for buying and selling subset of the remaining payments due under a note and security instrument do not remove the collateral security.