I've called a few home owners who have props that I'm interested in(found on the tax assessment site and created spreadsheets by county for the land use codes Im interested in) but was wondering if anyone had any other ideas.Am I just being over anxious and should just keep scouring the MLS until we find something?

The price is zero, but the cost is wasted time searching and scouring and the frustration that is.

Have you scoured the market with a Realtor who specializes in your market with investors?

So yes you can sell as the owner to friends, family and even total strangers as long as the deed is in your name or you are the trustee.Yes you will be able to scour the MLS for deals.

If you scour the fine print and they don't make you vest then mortgage your rentals and pawn your golf clubs to buy all you can at the discount and sell sell sell!

After scouring various cities across the nation to identify a starting point to really get started, I am leaning towards Cleveland area.

Currently taking a look at finding some meetups to see if I can find some part time work under a real estate investor and get some more "hands on" experience in this business.I've been scouring the listings to see whats in the Greenville SC area. 

You can scour Realtor.com and filter by "REO/Foreclosure" to hit all of the listed bank homes on the market.All of the auction sites have them as well. 

OK ordering now, great recommendation and strangely (though I scour all RE podcasts) I haven't heard of it yet.

Scour the BP forums, listen to the podcasts, and attend some webinars.