We will need to back track, refigure, and re-attempt.

If they have an office or place of business you can meet them there, or you can seek them out at functions designed to draw the right type of crowd.

If you maintain an office or place of business that is open to the public and you can get prospects to visit you in person, this is one solution.

I assume a visit to a county assessor's office will show me their current address and even their phone number?!

A police officer catching a purse thief.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics makes it easy to track month to month changes in total nonfarm employment growth in a given market, as well as growth in what they call the supersectors - 11 more or less industry specific categories.There's a lot more to consider, but simply looking at those two things will help you begin to sort markets out.I agree with avoiding RE agents for the most part; we've had much more success talking to good commercial brokers in town about what's going on.

That said, I have worked in and out of Vietnam for the last 20 odd years and I have actually bought and sold an apartment in HCMC.I was looking for a place close to our office by Tan Son Nhat airport and one of my local partners invited me to join her at a new condo development open house in Thu Duc, 15 mins from airport; 3 buildings on the Saigon river.

"Using" a friend in the probate office is a bad idea.

That would be a fantastic thing to have.If I had something like that I would be tempted to go to the code office and tell them to make me upgrade my property :-)-Micheal

They must go through you/your office when they are ready to purchase, but you can show them anything on the MLS/your inventory (spell this out upfront).