Investing Solo vs. Partnering with Friend

[Melanie Pray]

Hello! My husband and I are looking to buy our first rental property this year in Baltimore, MD. We have an out-of-state friend with a lot of cash who wants to invest with us, but we wanted to get some fellow real estate investors' opinions on a couple partnership-related questions first.

1. Any thoughts on the pros/cons of investing on on our own more slowly but getting all the profits versus partnering with a trusted friend and buying more properties quicker but splitting the profits?

2. If we go with the partner, we will be doing all of the initial legwork and number crunching, and most likely managing the properties ourselves. Are there any recommendations on how to structure the partnership and investments? Example: (A) Split everything 50/50, or (B) partner pays 60% of cash needed and we pay 40% since we did all the initial work, pay ourselves the property management fee until we decide to outsource, and split the monthly cash flow 50/50.

Looking forward to hearing all your thoughts!