I found an abandoned six-unit apartment complex that looks like an ideal rehab -- especially considering Houston needs additional rentals now more than pre-Harvey.  The owner of the building hasn't paid taxes on the property since 2002.  The property is scheduled for public auction in near future.  Any suggestions on trying to obtain property before being offered for public sell?  

I've thought about contacting owner directly, but because I'm new to investing, I don't want to risk blowing the opportunity with an uninformed approach.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.  

Any direction on how or where to find out if there may be other outstanding liens on the property would also be helpful to know, assuming there's a simple, cost-effective way to find out without having to perform title search.