When to have a contract prepared?

[Andrew Quinn]

I have a few contract templates that I think may be useful for my business but I am not for sure. When is the best time to get your contract in order... right before you start marketing for deals? or after you have found a deal? I can see pitfalls to both. If you get the contract before marketing, parts of your contract may not apply to the particular deal you end up finding. If you get your contract done after finding a deal, then your time to submit an offer takes longer because you have to have an attorney draft up the contract. Also, is it ok to use a template contract if you feel that you are in good understanding of it and have an attorney ammend it as necessary? Or is it absolutely foolish to use any contract without an attorneys approval even if you feel you understand the terms of the contract?