Two flipping questions

[Steve Edwards]

I am working towards my first flip. I have a few questions I'm hoping those who are experienced could help me with.

1.) I do not have funding. I do not yet have any investors I work with. I do not have a portfolio with which I can impress potential partners. I'm a complete novice with only the knowledge I've picked up from books and the BP site. if I find a property I want to flip, how do I get it under contract so that I can take it to an investor without having them simply take it away from me? I don't understand taking under contract because usually when you go to see a home, people want proof of funds, (or with loans, they want a credit score, and a mortgage pre-approval letter from a bank). I won't actually have the money so I'm confused about how to take something under contract without any money. Where can I learn about these specifics?

2.) I love the BP calculators. And I know the 70% ARV rule. But as a novice who can't yet estimate myself how much money it will take to rehab, how do I make this determination? Also, am i allowed to have contractors take a look at a home before I've bought it? Can investors protect themselves in agreements with contractors? (i.e. If a contractor says they will fix A, B and C within 3 months for 25k, is there any way to prevent them from saying oh, sorry, A, B and C will actually be 30k, we also need to do D and F which will be another 15k, and it'll take us 5 months?)

Thank you all for your awesome guidance!