Finding out where someone lives used to be somewhat difficult as the most commonly used resource for finding any address was a huge, bulky, yellow book of telephone numbers.

Even this was only helpful if you could narrow the field down to a last name and Postcode.

With the Internet, however, we now have the ability to look up telephone numbers, addresses and names with only one piece of information. If you're trying to find out who lives in a particular house, you have several options available to you.

Use a reverse address directory. These operate in the same way as reverse telephone lookup tools except they provide the name of the person who receives mail at the property instead of the person listed for the phone number. See Resources for two address directories.

Go to your local property or tax assessor. Everyone who owns land usually has to pay taxes to the county and state. As such, you can use the public records maintained by your county tax assessor. Most county property assessors keep records online. Keep in mind, however, that the owner of the property may not be living at the address.

Pay for an online service. Most free services also have a fee-based service, which is guaranteed. This should be a last-ditch effort when the other two methods don't work. See Resources for one of the more reputable firms.