Reaching out to Owner prior to tax sale in Houston, Texas

[Kyle Bryant]

I was looking through the Harris County Tax website today and came across an interesting scenario. As a new investor, I'm looking for some advice on how to proceed.

Harris County tax authority is foreclosing on a property (tri-plex in Houston) in September. The "adjudged value" is $193k, and the minimum bid (i.e., back taxes and fees owed) is around $28k. The property itself was subject to a probate proceeding back in 2012. The prior owner (decedent) left the property to a non-family resident of the property. Well, said resident did not pay any property taxes from 2012 onward, and the executor of the estate never deeded the property to the beneficiary. So HCAD still lists the estate as the owner.

The County, however, sued the beneficiary (in rem only) but couldn't get him served. The court appointed an ad litem attorney, who went and knocked on the door to the property, wherein he found the beneficiary (the defendant in the county's tax suit). Attorney ad litem hands him the lawsuit papers and notice of tax foreclosure sale, but the beneficiary/resident/owner does nothing. I want to purchase the house with cash, but I don't want to do it at auction, as I believe the price will get run up to where the numbers don't make sense.

My question is this: how should I approach the owner about buying the house with cash to extinguish the tax lien (and maybe put a few dollars in his pocket). It's clear that the house is at least habitable, as it has several people living there now. I am wondering whether I should contact the owner and see if we can work out a deal to where I buy the house, and he potentially could reside there as a tenant. Or, I pay the tax lien and then he owner finances the other portion of the purchase price, or maybe some other arrangement.

I would love to hear from some people who have been doing this a long time. What has been your experience in contacting property owners ahead of the tax sale to try and work a deal? What would be the best way to handle the intricacies of this situation? Any advice would be helpful. The only progress I have made is to do some due diligence on the tax case and probate case, and to put a letter in the mail to the owner/resident. Thanks in advance, BP!