If an attorney is handling the estate, their name may be mentioned in the notice. Contact the attorney, who may also be in charge of listing of the deceased's real estate. Talk to your local garbage man. Most garbage men work in the same neighborhoods every week and can spot changes in someone's home quickly. They can report important information to you, usually before anyone else, such as abandoned homes, homes for sale by owner and, even in some cases, deaths.
Attorneys can be good contacts.
Some attorneys offer properties for sale on behalf of banks, owners that live abroad or out of state and for sellers who do not wish to sell the property themselves. Read the newspapers and on-line postings for public auctions, divorces and bank foreclosures. Frequently check the courts and county clerk's office for death and divorce filings. Develop a friendly relationship with your letter carrier. Just like the garbage man, he or she can report important information to you.