If it is MLS listed, my suggestion would be find a good agent in your area, and have him/her represent you in this matter - this puts a specialist on you side. 

at one point I had 11 houses and couldn't get anybody, accountants or bookkeepers, to give me the real numbers.... so I took over few years ago with my excel spreadsheet, directly from bank account, and split between the houses, so I can give my investors a report...However, for accountants, they don't like that, and want to bring me back to Quickbooks... and NOOOOOO WAYYYYY!!!!  

Do you guys suggest getting an LLC prior to attempting our first deal?

If you are looking for a bank in your area, I suggest reaching out to active investors and asking them for referrals.

Are there any specific neighborhoods you would suggest looking?

Anyone suggestion or recommendation will be highly appreciated. 

So this is the path I've chosen to follow up to and including being part of my retirement.I believe that networking and gathering real life experience from doing work myself along with following other's guidance (who have been there/done that) will garner me more knowledge and success than paying "gurus" thousand of dollars for bus trips through a city and region I already know well.I am still formulating a 5 year plan (yes, they are passe now a days but I'm old school) and I feel the first steps would be to connect with other REI's, join the local REI Groups and begin growing my network.Any guidance, advice and suggestions from this point forward will be greatly appreciated!

If you have a bit of money to start with I suggest you use that to get a good mentor as opposed to blindly buying your first property.

Any suggestions would be appreciated and I will be happy to answer any follow-up questions.

I had thoughts that "legitimizing" my business would be a smart first step.a.k.a. making a website, having business cards, getting a separate "business" phone/voicemail to answer prospective leads inquiring about properties or offering them.Would anyone suggest that this is the right direction to go before spending money on direct mailing campaigns/driving for dollars/running advertisements via craigslist or any other source?