New to investing question

[Max Allendorf]

So say I decided to drive for dollars and I'm a new real estate investor looking to start his portfolio. I find a property that looks promising but don't have the financing yet. Would I need to establish financing before I decide to dive into any deals or in order to get financing like say through an FHA loan would I need to find a property first? Like I said I'm new to real estate investing and am looking for someone like a mentor but don't want to sound like every other new person just expecting a mentor to fall out of the sky. I would like to find deals so I didn't show up to dinner with nothing to bring to the dinner table. I'm just stuck on how I would begin to start that process of finding other people deals to go in on with me. I just don't want to start calling people saying I would like to buy their home but not have the financing to pull the trigger when someone says they want to sell me their property. Or am I completely wrong all together and not making any sense? I just really want to get my portfolio started and pull the trigger and start my investing career instead of just saying I want to start my career and read every book and never end up making anything from it. I appreciate any info thanks everyone!