How to bild relationships and get pre-qualified

[Benjamin Barredo]

Hi everyone. Ben Barredo here from Knoxville, TN, a fired-up real estate newbie that is grinding and fighting to make things happen.

I have a question...well, a two part question.

I've listened to a lot of podcasts, read a lot of forums, and read books telling me to go out and meet bankers, loan officers, and make relationships. How the heck do I do that? Is it acceptable to just walk into a bank and take up a loan officer's time while not really offering to do anything that day? Will I be chased off or looked at like the 90% of "shiny-object" syndrome newbies that talk a lot but don't do anything? Should I wait until I close a few wholesale deals before I try to approach them?

The other part of the question is, how do I get pre-qualified with a letter from a lender so that I can make offers or bid on Auction.com for a 25k foreclosure or something? (has anyone ever used Auction.com? I found it today and there are a TON of cheap SFH on there in my area). Should I wait until I have 20% saved up?