Looking for a House, Not a Person?

Oh, fun. Los Angeles (I grew up there).

In normal cases, the county recorder will have data on the house, and deeds would be at the courthouse. LA isn't normal. So, working from what can help..

do you think the house may still be there? No, don't laugh. The house in Gardena where I grew up was built in the 20s and I have SEEN it on google maps recently. I actually considered writing a letter to the owner/occupant of (insert address), just out of curiousity. If I did, I would have enclosed an SASE (self addressed stamped envelope). If you can get to tax records, then it would normally show the current owner, and using that name, you can go through grantor/grantee indexes. That is what a title search does..tracks sales of a property. What would scare me off from that would be the sheer volume of deeds in Los Angeles. On the other hand..if the house survives, then I'd find a random way of calling/writing a TITLE company, and ask for advice. A search would cost you, but they can tell you what office and where, the deed indexes would be. Another option..many realty companies now have info on neighborhoods ie when last sold, selling price, so forth. A realtor CLOSE to the address is best bet.

DO YOU HAVE the specific person's name that you expected to be there? have you ran those name(s) through something like the social security death index, or calif. death index? It might help to track the owner or heirs, who might share info. You might already know who they are.

Not long ago, I stumbled on a site that involved the neighborhood where family lived, which now is a historical preservation area. You would be lucky if such a thing exists for the locality you need (considering the age of the house, it isn't impossible.).

I'd start with the google maps. You might find some of the other resources pop up in a search (ie realtor, so forth).

My email is open, if you would like some help doing this.

http://assessor.lacounty.gov/extranet/list/faqList...

they may also give you some help, as to what sources there are.

Old city directories in the public library - the "Reverse Directory" section - will tell you who lived there. The county courthouse would be the only place to find out who owned it, unless you know someone at a title insurance company.