How much does a mortgage payoff amount generally vary from the loan amount?

Just curious. Say that a refinance loan was taken out about 10 years ago on a house.

The original loan was $60,000 for 30 years. Now roughly 10 years later, the amount owed is $46,000. The interest rate is 7 percent.

There is a note that says "the amount shown is your principal balance only without interest" or something like that. Yet in another area, it says that the amount for a requested payoff amount may be lower than the amount stated.

Say that you wanted to sell the house. How would you go about figuring out what the actual payoff amount would be? There is a phone number on the mortgage statement that says you can call the number for a payoff amount. However, it is a recording that also wants a "closing date".

Any ideas/advice?

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