I've got good reason to believe that the house is owned free + clear or at least they have a LOT of equity.Should I try and hunt down his ex and contact her, or should I try working through this guy and his sister first?

Having been house hunting when rates went from 13 or 14 to 17 or 18, these rates are hard to not take advantage of.

I would focus on the job hunt and continue educating yourself about real estate on the side.  

Happy hunting!

That could work well too, just limit it to partnering up with a decent agent not doing a lot of production that would welcome getting half of the pie you provide by prospecting, these prospects  you find during the hunt for wholesale deals.

And now here I am, telling you the story ;)Good hunting-

For awhile there I was going to assist some wholesalers by finding the houses for them as the thrill of the hunt is what I enjoy in this, but as soon as I started asking even the most basic questions they got skittish and disappeared so it left a bad taste in my mouth.  

You can get more out of a 1 hour conversation with somebody than you can spending a week online.Happy hunting!  

A member of my team and I went to the Inland Empire Real Estate Club at the Mission Inn in Riverside, Ca and I found a seller of a great new investment.Good hunting folks there is plenty of money out there and plenty of investments,  We just have to get get them.  

Would be happy to answer any specific questions.Good hunting-