1. Establish your budget
Before you even think about what to buy, where to buy, establish how much you have to spend on your new property. Unless you know this figure, you are potentially wasting your time looking at anything else. Speak to a mortgage broker at this point as they can help you establish what you can borrow, given your circumstances. When you know how much you can spend, then take the next step.
2. Looking for growth or cash flow
This is the next key step to consider. In an ideal world you would want both, but in reality there is a trade off to be had here. My personal view is that you should always look for some form of healthy cash flow so that you are not hit by any nasty surprises when things go wrong. The days of leveraging massively and hoping for the best in property prices going up are gone, especially given all the tax changes happening and about to happen. Best to place it safe.
3. Research, research and more research
Now that you have a budget and understand your property strategy, its about finding the right areas and the right properties. There are so many aspects to consider at this stage so do take your time. Which regions offer the growth/yield you are looking for? Should you buy houses or flats? Single lets or HMOs? Established or new build properties? who is your ideal tenant? etc.