County Tax Records Outdated?

[Mariah Sanchez]

Hello!

I am looking into investing in property that have back taxes. I have been looking at county records to find leads and my question is how do I know if the record is still current and active? Many of these say that the owner owes only say $15. I could reach out to them and see if they owe even more at this point (I am looking at records from 2-3 years ago) but I feel it is much more realistic to assume they paid the small amount off. When I find records like this, how would I know if they still owe without wasting my money and time skip tracing them and bothering the owner over an issue that may be resolved already?  

- Also is wholesaling properties like this with no money an option? Or in this cause would I have to buy the property and resell the title with a whole salers mindset.

Thanks!