LLC vs. Umbrella Policy liability coverage

[Chien Tai]

Hello Everyone, I'm fairly new to the Biggerpockets community and real estate investment. I'm contemplating purchasing my first single family home / condo investment property in Northern California. I'm currently in the process of getting pre-approval. When I spoke to the mortgage broker at the bank, I was told that they cannot process loans for LLC's.

I have a few questions.

1. From a legal liability protection perspective, what difference does it make if I purchase the property with my name first and later transfer it to a LLC?

2. For investment properties, does it make more sense to go with a mortgage brokerage firm than a bank?

3. Are LLC's the industry standard when purchasing investment properties? Hypothetically, say if a tenant accidentally burns down the property and his/her neighbor's property. Can the neighbor go after the owners' assets?

I realized that this is my first time posting questions on the forum and might not be aware of all the forum etiquette. Please also feel free to suggest if there are better ways to ask questions.

Thank you so much in advance!