Buying a house with delinquent taxes from the owner

[Gavin Snyder]

Hey Guys,

I was looking at the tax records in my area, Houston Texas, and I came across a property in an area that is under going gentrification. The current owner doesn't live there but owes about 8k in taxes from 2015, 2016 and 2017. First off, how do would I determine if the county has already taken over the property and plan to auction it off. I can't find it an any pre-foreclosure list.  Second, what do should I do before approaching the homeowner to ensure I can legally acquire the property. Third, if I approached the home owner to buy the house and she accepted what would I need to do to acquire the house.  As you probably guessed, I have never dealt with tax liens and have minimal RE investing experience. Let me know what you guys think.

Tax info: 

https://www.hctax.net/Property/TaxStatement?account=HWCFQ4esXQ4X7yMRkc4QmpKDpy/BqLnUdR4s6dDwm8s=

Thanks,

Gavin