2 years past due taxes

[Alex Verdugo]

As I was driving for dollars i came across this property that is 2 years behind on its taxes.  There is an absentee owner.  Ive heard a lot about purchasing tax leins and how to purchase properties that have tax leins.  Most of those stories begin with the investor going down to the court house and getting the tax lein list. A few have ended with the investor getting the property for basically the taxes they paid.  Seeing as this was found just by driving around and I didnt find it through a list from the govt, what do I do next?

I'm not sure if I can just pay their taxes and then if they don't pay me back, I aquire the property.  Do I need to contact them to set up a repayment plan?  Should I just pay the taxes and then talk to the owner? Talk to owner first?  Should I send out a yellow letter just to get things going? 

This is the first time I've dealt with this sort of thing.  Any help will be greatly appreciated.