When to apply for hard money

[Travis Cormier]

Hi BP,

I'm a bit confused on how to do hard money. I have only used conventional financing so far. I've trie dsearchign and can't seem to find the answer to my question: when do I apply for hard money? 

I have a lead that I'm wanting to pursue, and while I could go conventional I want to give them the option of either a lower purchase price with faster closing, or higher price with longer closing. If they accepted lower purchase price with faster closing, would I need to go ahead and submit the info to a hard money lender now, or wait until I have it under contract.

Thanks for your help