I know that the hctax website lets you look up a name or adress but won't let you browse the entire database.I am asking because I think it would be a good way to find motivated sellers I believe.

I recommend you talk to the seller, find out what his motivation is, and then see if you can negotiate something that fits his needs and yours. 

Sometimes, money can motivate people to actually clean up their properties.  

Through our sphere of influence, the seller called us because they knew we could help them with a cash purchase and to close quickly.

What kind of rewards have you found to be most motivating for your partners?

Gurus can help but ultimately it comes down to how motivated you are.

I’m excited to announce that BiggerPockets has acquired Left Field Investors (LFI) and, with this acquisition, we’re launching a groundbreaking new platform for passive investors: PassivePockets.The passive investing space has seen tremendous growth over the past few years, but it’s also faced challenges—shifting markets, questionable influencers/syndicators, and a lack of transparency between GP and LP.

I was going to avoid that because I am 42 with a wife and 2 elementary school kids, and although I have the motivation and free-spirit to do that, my wife is quite conservative and wants that nice dream house =) Which I definitely want to provide.

Through our sphere of influence, the seller called us because they knew we could help them with a cash purchase and to close quickly.

The worst ones usually don't have any clear cut guidelines (a lot of the underwriters will make up their own rules if they do not like the deal), Suck at communicating (will reply days later), Push aggressive terms to get deals in and then switch them, and Not really motivated to get things done (they will adverse a loan without any hesitation).