Start calling brokerages, but very clear from the beginning on what you want so you can sift and sort quickly.

The training there has been better than anything I have paid for, and the network of real, local people has been outstanding if you can sift out the 90% that are just poking around.

There are also database services that aggregate and sift through this data for you, instead of individually pecking away at individual property addresses at the county web site (Which IS a great way to learn and do simple research, btw), but when you are ready to aggregate the data and mine the county databases for specific pieces of information (eg. absentee owner, lis pendens, etc.)

I am glad that you understand the importance of sifting through brokers to find ones that actually know the investing side of the industry.

So you basically have to sift through lot of normal information to find one good practical advice/suggestion .I really don't care if some one charges 200 bucks for a 1 hr video , but it should have high quality actionable content .

If you have dealt with VA’s you know that sometimes there can be some dirt you have to sift through to find some good ones.

They can be a goldmine but you have to sift through a lot of crap to find the good ones. 

Unfortunately, the best ones stay busy and there are tons of poor ones to sift through when you are looking.

I have large financial backing and it's time to go on the hunt and sift through opportunities for the gems.

After reading a TON of the posts on this topic I'm barely starting to sift through the info.