Finding Properties

I feel myself caught in a trap that I know I shouldn't be in. A lot of seasoned investors will make it a point to not find properties, but have the properties find you. IOW, don't spend your time looking for deals , but have motivated sellers contact you. I know this is the correct approach, but still I find myself perusing the web looking for bargains. Maybe its a fear I have of talking to a person who is in a predicament that I feel I am not qualified to help. I also understand what investors mean by there being a lot of properties out there. I usually rely on my agent to give me feeds each day of potential houses. In any given week, there are probably 10-15 properties that fit my criteria, and 4-6 which I'll actually submit an offer on. The area I concentrate on is a radius of about 5-6 miles. Today, I decided to do a little research in other areas further out. In a brief look at Pas REO, Home Steps, and Bid Select, I found a total of 16 properties at or below $100k - some REO's and other's government-owned. Now, I usually look up records on the county clerk's web site, which takes about 10-15 mins. each. Doing 16 would definately take a long time (3-4 hours). Then I use a spreadsheet template for each, gather tax jurisdiction info, and arrive at an initial and maximum offer. This usually takes an additional 15 mins per property - so, another 3-4 hours. And this is on top of the 1-5 properties I analyze from my agent's daily feeds. Whew! I need to hire some help, quit my JOB, cut back on the listings, and/or change my strategy.