Mechanic's Lien Question

[John Mich]

I'm potentially interested in purchasing property from a friend. The property has a lien against it from 2005. I pulled the lien info and attempted to contact the company, only it doesn't seem to exist any more. I googled the name of the executor of the lien and he is a lawyer who runs a very large construction company here. Should I attempt to contact him and see if I could negotiate a payoff amount, or is that a bad idea? Would it be better to find another means to confirm that the company has been dissolved, and if it has, just let the lien fall off? Any advice is much appreciated. Thank you in advance.