Determine if they are even motivated to sell, sounds like they may not be, but circumstances change all the time.

I have a brother that has recently gotten into real estate and he is my primary motivator in starting this journey, hearing what he has learned and the potential that is out there.My question is I have some equity in my primary residence right now (approx $40k). 

Just don't become a motivated buyer. 

I've tired finding some on Google, but it seems incredibly hard to get these people to pick up the phone! 

Reasonable rental increases may be in the best interest of the tenant, as they will be motivated to keep their budget current with the market and thus less likely to get stuck in a non-ideal situation. 

@Mark KillionThank you for this incredibly valuable post!

This is an incredibly difficult question in my opinion.   

Incredible demand for contracting here in Cleveland.

The family loan had a slightly higher interest than the bank loan in order to motivate me to pay it off.

Lists do not give you motivated sellers.You are filtering your list based on criteria that have NOTHING to do with motivation. you are simply relying on luck sending mailers out based on a list.