Flipping woes of a Real Estate Rookie... send help! SOS!

[Hannah Simpson]

Hi, I am new to REI and BP, so please bear with me as I try and learn! I've been reading all the books and listening to all the podcasts, but something is just not lining up for me, and I don't quite understand what I am missing.

I am trying to flip a house. However, the bank is requesting total loan amount (purchase price of home + rehab cost). As we all know, good deals in real estate move fast. So, how can one manage to get several GC's out to the house you are looking to flip, and get the rehab cost quickly, in order to get that info to the bank- all the while then having to wait to get approved. 

I don't understand how the house would not be taken by the time all that happens. Especially if it is a good deal and will move fast. And then what happens if it does sell to someone else in the meantime...? Then you have to start over with new purchase price because the home you were looking at is now off the market. What am I missing? 

Also, one thing to note that might be part of my trouble is that I am investing out of state in a small town in Oklahoma where there appears to be NO GC's. It's wild. It seems like I will have to go to a bigger city (about an hour away) to even find a GC. This further complicates my situation and I just don't understand how all the pieces fall together. If I can't even get the loan without rehab estimate, but can't get any GC's out to the home then.....?

Thanks for any help/feedback!