Looking for help to lock in a deal!!

[Cristobal Fernandez]

Seeking help for order of operations on whether or not we should be getting houses under contract and then inspected or the other way around...send our realtor there, have her FaceTime us so we can view the property, then try to get our GC out there (which is the route we have been taking) to get a bid? It can take up to 3 days or more, most of the houses have already gone under contract by the time we are receiving any information back. HELP!!! What is the method to locking in these deals? Should we be contacting the listing agent directly to make offers or have our realtor submit the offer?