Advice needed with Quit Claim Deed wholesale purchase

[Catalin B.]

I found a property that is under contract...seller has 12k in county unpaid taxes...after factoring in the unpaid taxes, the numbers are solid.

-seller wants to sell with quit claim deed...warranty deed not possible since owner has unpaid back taxes?

-property was purchased in 2016 from HUD...on the County records, the Sales Amount of transaction shows $0...not sure why...who is typically holding the mortgage on a HUD purchase?

-I have a lawyer that is charging a reasonable flat fee for closing the deal...I wonder if a title search on my end ($250 maybe) will save me the flat fee that my lawyer will ask for, in case that the deal will be a no go due to some other findings.

Looking for advice and tips since this is my first transaction of this type.