Setting up business entity | Newbie Input

[Keith Mudiappa]

Hello All —

I am really new into looking at real estate investing (Newbie). I only began a month ago and I am currently in the stage of educating myself before making any major moves.

I have three questions

The first question I have is at what point do you set up a business entity so that your rental properties can be couched within that entity?

I plan to make a purchase on a piece of property where I can begin by house hacking. This I see makes the most sense as my first step in getting into real estate investing.  if you have a different suggestion I am open to it.  My wife and I we are looking at purchasing a multi family unit over a single-family home. Again if you suggest otherwise I am open to considering it as well

The second question I have is Would My first purchase of Real Estate which I plan to House Hack/rent or AirBnb qualify as part of my rental property portfolio?

My third and final question is what percentage of your max loan approval (450K) would be wise to invest in your first rental property purchase? 

Thank you once again for taking time to answer these questions. I truly appreciate the time, energy, effort and thought in helping me out.