Newbie with Finance Question(s)

[Karen Jackson]

I am running analysis on different homes looking for that "good" deal to purchase my first rental (single family) property. I have zero experience which makes it a little challenging to get lenders to trust that I will repay their money back. I have a good credit score (740+), but not sure if I should I get preapproved for a mortgage loan or hard money loan first (before finding a property)? Where do I start and will I need an LLC first so that the (borrowed) money is NOT in my name? Thanks for any help you can give.