I am not a lawyer and cannot give legal advice. This is just
my two cents.
I buy in Dallas and take the time to do my own research at the records building because not everything seems to be online.
I took a look at the Tarrant County website and that looks like it would contain most everything. I as a test, would research the entire list of properties and see what you can find. If you can find one that is really complicated and messed up (lots of issues) use it as a test subject. Pay the $200 and see what the researcher at the title company finds. If they don’t find any more than you chances are that you have the same ability.
You are quite right to look into the taxes because when you buy at the tax sale you are not elevating all the back taxes. The legal notice will say what years are covered. I know of people who were quite surprised that after the sale they still had thousands of dollars to pay in taxes.
You want to ensure that along with taxes you look for mowing and other types of liens on the property. Look up the property by address, legal description and the owners name. Look up all the names that you find on all of these documents because someone not named on the legal notice might have claim to the property. I have encountered a federal tax lien by searching the owners name that did not come up otherwise. Thankfully I also saw that it was already released. If it had not been then that would likely have been my responsibility. I have also encountered property that the owner had passed away (estate of), they were married when they purchased the property and later divorced. The spouse was never named on the property but this is Texas so they have rights to it. I had to find a 40 year old divorce decree to see who had clear right to the property. Title companies hate these properties because they actually have to do some work and it’s not just a slam dunk for them.
Also consider that you typically can’t sell or get title insurance (or a mortgage) during the redemption period.
Good luck
