Which Comes First, The Deal or The Financing?

[Clayton Dean Conrad]

I'm relatively knew to real-estate investing, but I've been reading and researching for a few months now. I read Brandon Turners book on creative financing and I would love to peruse some creative ways to finance the deals. my question is, do I secure the financing before looking for a deal? or do I need a deal to secure financing? I was also wondering if anyone knows some privet lenders I could try to connect with or had any other helpful advice when looking for creative financing?