Get pre approved now or wait to save up?

[Brian Holshouser]

Hello all! My Wife and I are just starting out in the real estate world but not in investing in general. We have about 10% of our expenses covered by passive income, mostly dividends.

With that said, we're ready for rental properties. The trick is, most of our money is either tied up in stock or in a TSP account. We also have good credit but it's from several years ago (about 5) as we don't currently use credit cards.

Should we wait until we have cash on hand and or more current credit to get approved/pre-approved or is it a waste of time?

We could use a chunk of the TSP as a down payment if we needed and have a few grand already saved up but it could take several months to reach that 25% and get more current credit established.

What if we come upon a really good deal in the mean time?

Thanks!