Trying to make a purchase on an investment property

[Luke Edward]

I am trying to make my first purchase on an investment property. I have been looking at sites like Auction.com and other sites as well to see what homes are going to be auctioned in my area. My question is, how can I find out if these properties have any liens on them? How can I do my due diligence before I make a purchase? So far, I was interested in one particular property, so I called the county clerk, finally was transferred to the right department that would have the information I was looking for, only to be told that they don't have that kind of information, even though I've been told by many people that the county does in fact have records such as liens. So after that dead end I called a title company to see how if they could run a Informational Report to see if the property had any liens or outstanding debts that I would assume on purchase, but the representative at the title company said it might be like 200$ to get the info I want. Is there a better way to do things? I have the capital to make a small purchase on an investment property, but I do not have the capital to waste 200$ every single time I need to research a property. Also, what kind of things should I be looking for when researching a potential investment property? How should I go about doing this? I have come to the point of being ready to invest, but I have absolutely no idea where to start, or how to start. Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks! -Luke