First Commercial Mortgage Question

[Mike Marino]

Hello BP,

I started looking for small multifamily properties in the $300k-$600k price range and There are a few things that are a little unclear to me: 

A little about myself

I am a self employed and have been working in brokerage. I want to purchase my first property that I can afford which is small Multifamily. I have a downpayment saved, good credit, but do not own assets and my income is historically up and down due to commission checks from brokerage

Im concerned that I’ll waste time looking for deals and making offers to ultimately not get financing - Should I be reaching out to lenders first to see an amount I would get approved for and then look at deals that fit? Or do I just look for deals and put the right one in contract and THEN look for the lender ? My concern then is if I ultimately cant get financing I don’t want to lose my deposit. But if I tell any broker or seller that my offer subject to financing, I dont think it will be taken seriously. Or, am I overthinking this and will the lender actually just look at the deal and not care so much about me?

I know on commercial deals the lender typically looks at the deal mostly, but I know that they do look at the borrower as well. It seems elementary but Im confused on this and in the deals I broker Im usually never involved when the buyer gets financing because most of them have been dealing with their lenders for years

If someone can point me in the right direction that would be extremely helpful!