First post from new Investor

[Angelo Looney]

Hey BP community, i'm a new REI. Been following the platform for a short while. My wife and I are looking to buying a small family property and using it as a STR. I've connected with a few agents and have been receiving listings that are fitting my criteria. We are currently homeowners and will utilize the equity in our home as well as funds that we have saved up over the years and start looking for loans that we can pre-qualify for to fund this future deal. My question is what is the next step in evaluating deals? Should I connect with contractors before I start physically looking at properties to get estimated renovation costs?