Buying a new rental property, what step is first?

[Cindy Craft]

Please help! We are hungry and motivated!

My husband and I have one SFR currently. It was his home when we met and we moved into my home and rented his out in 2019. It is doing very well and we are looking to invest in a second rental property, either another SFR or a MFR in the Findlay, OH area. I am not exactly sure where to start. Now that we have narrowed down our market/location, do I contact a realtor first, a lender to get a pre-approval, an investor (we will need an investor for the down payment), or do I need to have a specific property in mind and analyzed before pursuing any of these?

Also, at what point should we create a business or LLC?

Any advice would be truly appreciated!