Bank no longer paying taxes on home in default

[Chavis Atkins]

Hi, so I have a home that I found vacant and abandoned. Found this home almost a year ago but couldn't find the owner. Decided to go through my archives of homes I couldn't find the owner and decided to try facebook for this home's owner. Through relatives I find the owner and the owner agrees to sell me the home for 15k. It is a 3 bed 1.5 bath 1.3k sq ft with partial basement. 

She hasn't lived or had anyone in the home for 8 years now. She tells me she had a outstanding loan that was around 94k. Now I go to the Assessors site and it shows me her name still on the home and I went to check who is being mailed the taxes and it has her as the person to pay the taxes. Now the last thing recorded with the recorders office concerning the loan was that it was assigned to Chase in 2010. The mortgage was taken out in 2003 for 70k... now to the reason I'm on here.

She is willing to sell the home to me for 15k and out of that 15k she will pay her closing, back taxes and the other small liens recorded against her. We know she the owner of the home but not sure if the bank has dropped the home from their portfolio because the home is behind on taxes 2.5k and could be going up for tax sale this summer. The amount of 500 is due this May 11th along with what will be due for fall semester another 500 which is a total accumulation of 3.5 that needs to be paid. 

Don't banks pay the taxes on the home for however long so that they don't lose it a tax sale? Why would the bank stop paying taxes and let it get this far? Have the bank stopped paying and just have yet to record with the recorder they are releasing the mortgage? I would appreciate someone experienced with a situation like this as this isn't the only home I found like this, there is many more that I see that people have walked away a long time ago, home is not being taken care of by anyone and the taxes are behind but the owner has a outstanding mortgage.