When to talk to a lender?

[Austin Jones]

Quick background: I'm partnering with a close friend to buy our first investment property, a student rental house near a major university.  We've done our research and know what neighborhood we want to invest in, realistic rents, expenses, etc.  This has provided us a good basis for what we want to spend on a house to make sure we are hitting our cash flow goals/equity dividend requirements.  We know our numbers.  

We've organized an LLC, but are still waiting on the state to finalize it so we can open a business bank account. While we're waiting, we've been talking strategy on how to best find a property. I've been assuming we'd try to get a good deal on a property not currently for sale using direct mail to contact absentee owners in our target neighborhood.

While looking at properties that currently ARE for sale, a new listing popped up that we feel is underpriced, cash-flowing and essentially checking all of our boxes.  Because of this, we don't anticipate it sitting on the market for long, and we'd probably need to move sooner than later on this property.

Should we start talking to lenders now about financing, knowing that we're personally guaranteeing the loan or should we wait until everything is set up with the LLC? Is it difficult to buy a property and then transfer it over to the LLC at a later, albeit soon, date?

Thank you!