I would say that the point of the phone call is mostly to see how motivated they are, you already know the area so you can quickly find if their city/town/neighborhood is desirable.

The information available to you is incredible.

But in general, distressed (motivated) sellers are the sellers to seek out, and the list of such sellers will certainly only yield one property per seller for the most part.

MLS listings have been an abysmal failure for me so far.That brings me to my next point - the competition for MLS listings is so incredible (and I'm not even in that big of a city) that I don't see how anyone can purchase a house this way.

I think it is incredibly stupid but some buyers don't look at the original contract.

You got into this business because you are motivated and want to learn and you want to improve your financial situation, as well as the world around you. 

I'm working at developing my brand and determining a marketing budget to reach motivated sellers.

It's all negotiable, especially when dealing with a motivated seller..Patience is key!

How ever as a Realtor several years ago I did find a few FSBO's that were motivated sellers, and they were happy to just unload the property dirt cheap.

It also gives me quite the motivation after knowing you closed your first deal.