Kepler
Si certus es dubita
Yeah, it's a matter of public record. It has to be. The point of recording deeds and mortgages is to give notice to the world as to who might have an interest so that a buyer doesn't get swindled (at least with respect to ownership.) The public record will show you the mortgage and any other liens, but it won't necessarily show you what is currently owed.
Oh, that's interesting. So then you would have to do due diligence and demand that information if you were deliberating about a transaction, when Dump say claims to be 99% of the way through paying back a $300M loan and it turns out he hasn't paid a penny?
I would think that the public record might as well go farther and show that, too, but I guess then it becomes too onerous for record keeping and status. This way you give the party the flashlight and point it, anyway.