Looking to Move into the Hard Money Space - Feeling Stuck

[Sarah Reece]

After a lifetime in residential real estate I'm finally wising up and wanting to diversify a bit and start dipping my toes in the HM/PM space. I've got about $400k to loan and if I can prove my model to myself, I have access to another $1m in cash. I am getting clear on my buy box and hoping to stay local (WA state) with my lending. With all that in mind, I'm assuming that my first step is to create an LLC entity for protection and then have an attorney create a loan package with a note...right? I posted on a local group asking for attorney referrals and got some responses about my plan that made me question if this is infact what I need to do to start as a number of people said escrow will create these docs for me.

What say you oh wise ones with experience?  What are my first moves to take action?