Deals Before Financing or Vice Versa

[Ryan York]

Hello all!

I have access to the MLS via a friend who is a realtor, so I'm able to scope out some deals and I've gone and looked at a few properties already. However, I have no money! Obviously this is a problem. I have a few people who I think would be interested in partnering up in a deal, and I've found a couple that I think are worth while possibilities. My question is, should I make offers without the funds lined up? I've read plenty of things that say if you find a good deal, it won't be hard to find a buyer.

[Bryan O.]

ALWAYS have funds lined up first. @Steve Vaughan was spot on. If you are out there wasting everyone's time because you don't even know if there will be money backing you, then you are at high risk of being "that guy" that gives everyone in RE a bad name.

Get with your lenders and ask them about the types of deals they want to see. Find out if they think a 4-unit is the only smart way to go, or if single family is amazing to them. I find that pre-lenders (those that have the money but aren't in RE) want beautiful homes that they would live in. If you're looking for C+ and they only like A- then you would be wasting every person's time you are in contact with.