How to check for a lien on a property

[Colleen Carnahan]

Hello BP community! I am a fairly new investor, my company has found and is looking to purchase our first property that a wholesaler friend of ours found. The seller is asking for 5k - non-refundable earnest money, and no inspection period. 

We want to make sure there are no liens on the property. I called a title company to see if I could order a title search and was told I couldn't do so until it was under contract. Being new, we have limited funds and don't want to throw away 5k only to (possibly) find out there is a lien that makes the deal impossible for us to do. How do those who are buying at auction or in other situations researching this in advance?

Thanks!