Buying a house, order of operations

[Blake Yoder]

Hey BP,

    I'm very new to the real estate game and I just want to make sure I have the "order of operations" down, as it were.  First let me start off by saying I have read a few books on real estate and attended some webinars from this wonderful site.  So I have relative general knowledge (albeit not a lot) about how loans/notes/interest rates/etc work.  I am mainly interested in landlording.  That is, have a passive monthly cashflow.  Not flipping houses right away.

I don't understand however the order in which do do things.  Here's how I see it, let me know if I'm missing the point here:

1. Scan MLS

2.  Find a potential property

3.  Run the property through the Rental Property Calculator (as I said, passive cashflow)

4.  Call the listing agent and ask a few questions (is there anything wrong with the property, why does the owner want to sell, is the owner retiring soon, so on and so forth...)

5.  Make a verbal offer over the phone to the seller/agent that is contingent on an inspection (why go look at the property if they don't accept your intended offer!)

6.  If they accept, write the terms out with the contingency

7.  Inspect the property

8.  If the property is good to go, continue with purchase

9. Find a creative way to come up with the money (FHA loan/private investor/hard money -> refinance/etc. whatever it may be)

10.  Take money to escrow and "make it happen"

Is this at least semi accurate?  Should the money be sought out prior to making the offer or do I need to make the offer first?  What if I make an offer and then can't come up with the money?

Thanks in advance!

[Chris Mason]

@Blake Yoder - Getting financing lined up should be a littler higher on your list. What you have as number #9 needs to be up somewhere between #1 and #2. As I read your list, I was assuming you were an all-cash buyer until I got to #9.