Chicken and egg - prequalification and offer

[Steve Katuska]

Hey folks - I'm in the process of looking at a few medium-sized multi-family properties (4 - 12 units) and am finding that for the commercial loan needed for 5+ unit properties, I'm stuff in a chicken and egg situation. The banks I have reached out to say that I need to have an offer letter signed before I can apply for a loan, but my agent is telling me that a good offer needs to have a pre-qualification attached.

How did others navigate this - am I just working with the wrong banks, or should I push for my agent to make offers with a contingency on the financing? Not sure what I'm missing here. Thanks!