Pre approval or deal first?
Greetings! I'm interested in doing my first fix and flip and have been looking at hard money loans and portfolio loans. I've been doing some reading on the forums and I'm a bit confused about whether I should be getting a pre approval letter or find a deal first. Some say to get pre approved, others say the pre approval needs to be for a specific property or it is useless, and others are saying you need to have a deal to present to the lender for HML and Portfolio.
The market I'm looking to purchase in (Los Angeles) I hear properties are getting many bids and many buyers are making offers on multiple properties. I do have specific properties I am interested in, but they may not pan out if my bids are too low.
What is the best way to go about this?