So newbie thinks he found a deal...

[Naoise M.]

I was out "driving for dollars" and I come across a nice looking brick multi family in a decent and improving neighborhood.  Clearly it is a distressed/vacant property as the mailbox was full, no lights on, empty vacant windows and permit flyers posted on the front door.  They read: roof repair, interior wall repair, gas and pipe repairs.

Looks like it has great potential for fix n flip or buy, fix, rent.

As a young newbie investor I probably wont qualify for much of a mortgage and I don't quite have my private money network lined up just yet.  So what can I do?  And How can I approach the owner in this situation? (I haven't contacted the owner yet)

One of the articles I read here on BP suggests that one way to overcome the lack of experience beginners face in terms of actually analyzing and making an offer on a property is to make an offer and go through the process up until the point of closing in which case you can rescind if you actually don't have the funds and at least you gain that experience even if you don't get the property along the way.  Is this even possible without a pre-approval or proof of funds?

Will the owner even be bothered to show me the property at this point or should I focus on getting financing lined up?

Any advice or insight is greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

[Will Barnard]

I agree that going through the process is a great learning experience, however, with no ability to close and backing out at the end, you create a bad rep for yourself. Word can surprisingly get around. I suggest you find a partner with experience and money, you get paid a finders fee for finding the deal and perhaps take a smaller fee in exchange of being part of the entire process which will get you the experience and education needed to one day do this on your own.