Equity Partnership Structure

[Griffin Buell]

Hey all,

New here -- a friend and I are looking to start flipping houses in our area (Pioneer Valley, MA). She has money and I have remodeling skills. I've been analyzing properties with the calculator, reading The Book on Flipping Houses, and generally educating myself on the process. My friend would be an Equity Investor. Our main question at the moment is this: is there a need for some separate entity like an LLC when making a purchase? Or could she simply purchase the property in her name? There is a large amount of trust between us, as we've known eachother for more than a decade and she's willing to essentially give me a lump sum for reno costs and allow me to manage the project on my own.

I've been in construction for almost a decade, but this is my first venture into the GC/PM side of things on this scale. So for now I am looking for resources on partnership structures with an Equity Investor. Seperate LLCs? One single entity with the both of us signatories? Neither? 

Thanks!

Griffin