Co-buying investment property: Is LLC necessary?

[Account Closed]

Hi All!

I am buying an Airbnb investment property with a friend in a State neither of us live in. We are placing 50-50 capital and will be 50-50 split in profits and losses. I will be 100% the decision making partner of the two with my friend being completely passive. Will be spelled out in Operating Agreement.

I am planning to run this by an attorney but wanted to get some advice from some of the experienced people on here first.

Do I need to form an LLC or just spelling everything out in an Operating Agreement will suffice? The property is a SFH so bank will not allow it to be held under an LLC and will go under both of our names. Operating agreement will be setup TIC. In this scenario, is formation of an LLC necessary? (besides the liability protection benefit- which is big. But putting that aside). Is it absolutely necessary for tax purposes etc? Any input appreciated before I get attorneys and accountants involved.