When to reach out to homeowners?

[Carmen Lewis]

I have a list of properties that I've been looking at and researching. I feel like I want to reach out to homeowners to see if they are willing to sell, but I have cold feet. Is it better to get financing in place first, or have a seller ready to sell? I don't want to approach a homeowner with no plan because then they won't take me very seriously. I also don't want to approach potential investors without a possible deal... Am I going about things totally wrong?