You can also buy lists from companies like list source and there are some REI software companies that have a cash buyer search feature.Best way to find motivated sellers is to purchase lists and compile lists from city and county for 60-90-120 days late on mortgage, pre-foreclosure, delinquent taxes, water cutoff, code violation, probate, divorce, high equity, etc. and mail or cold call.Other methods are driving for dollars, door knocking, wholesalers, craigslist, Realtors, FSBO sites, expired listings, foreclosure sites, put out bandit signs, billboards, newspapers, other offline publications.If you have the funds you can run TV commercials, do pay per click/adwords, facebook, Linkedin, Youtube, and other forms of online advertising and social media postings.Bottom line is consistency.

That being said, I always aim to provide at least 60 days of notice (when only 30 days is required) as I can appreciate the time needed to secure new housing.My question for you all is, if the current seller provides the tenants with a notice to vacate upon the expiration of the sales contract's final contingency date, would I as the new owner be able to inherit their notice?

If they don't pay in full by the time the 3-day expires, we file in court for the eviction which typically takes place in 10-14 days.Penalty, penalty, eviction.

If the issues are too big or they've had other problems during the past year (neighbor complaints, lease violations, late rent, etc.) then I will give them a notice of termination 30 - 60 days prior to expiration date and my conversation with the Landlord will be focused on placing a new renter.When I do the inspection, it's far enough away from renewal that the Tenant doesn't tie it with a renewal.

Using a career starter loan on downpayment first for rental property ( the offer expires May 2021) and then using VA loan for my actual owner-occupied. 

1 - cash for keys2 - you can ask them to move out if you plan to move into the property 3 - Find some violation of the lease terms and evict them based on that.4 - wait for the lease to expire and not renew, or renew with them at market prices.5 - talk to the tenants to see if they would be willing to break the lease and sign a new one for higher amount but less than market prices. 

Obviously the tenant has to agree to it but you can change and revise it to your liking since the old lease is expired.

In any case, I was basically fine as long as I got paid at some point, and the plan is to not renew the contract with the tenant (the contract expires in the summer). 

As far as I know, the application's "pending" status doesn't just expire. 

Without seeing their lease there may be a provision to notify of renewal 60-90 days prior to expiration so now may be a good time to start the discussion anyway.