If the note was a recorded document then you can find the apn through the address of the home. Once you find the APN you can go downtown and find out all recorded documents that have to do with that home. This will get you a little bit of information but not much.
One thing that will never ever happen is that whoever holds the note on that property will talk to you. Legally they cannot talk to anybody about the property except for the owner OR whoever the owner gives them express written consent to talk to.
If you find a distressed property your best chance of a deal is to simply contact the owner directly. Talk to them, see if you can sit down with them and strike a deal for a sale or to assume the loan, or that you, the owner and the lender can work out a deal between yourselves.
Trust me, contacting the lender while title is still in the name of the owner is a fruitless task unless the homeowner gives the lender permission to talk to you. Otherwise simply wait until foreclosure and then try to contact the lender or whoever gobbles it up at the trustee sale.
