Lease Option Sandwich on Trustee Sale?

[Brandon Stewart]

I'm hoping someone can help me understand this since I'm just starting out.

I found this house on Zillow that was listed for around 250 days. I looked up the address and the property taxes and school taxes are not paid. I checked again the next day and it is listed for rent. The owner is an out of state owner as well. It seems to me this person may be motivated. However, the sales history is what confuses me a little, because the title is in the hands of a trustee, and I'm not sure if the home was being sold by the trustee to repay a debt, or if the out of state owner is trying to rent it out for financial relief. The answer would determine how I approach the seller.

Here's what the sales history says(names have been changed):

First

Owner: John Doe,  Current owner: No,  Sales Date: Not available,  Sales Amount: $0

--The second owner has the same name, just with trustee at the end:

Owner: John Doe Trustee, Current owner: No, Sales Date: 3/21/1994, Sales Amount: $10

--This owner has a different name, still a trustee:

Owner: Stewart Brandon trustee, Current owner: Yes, Sales Date: 10/2/2003, Sales Amount: $155,000

As you can see, it went from one trustee to another, and I'm not sure what that means. I just recently learned about deeds of trust.

If you were considering this deal, with the information provided, how would you go about contacting the decision maker? The tax records show the owner's address, but I don't know if that's the decision maker, since the title is in the hands of a trustee.