Deal Structure with Financial backer

[Michael Franko]

I am a new investor and I have recently connected with someone that is willing to financially back my deals.  They are not real estate people so I need to be the "industry expert".  My question is how or what is the best way to structure a deal?  Can we just buy the house together?  Do we need a formal entity?  I understand there are unlimited options but I'm looking for some ideas.  Some of the properties I'm looking at we could pay cash for does that make a difference in the deal structure?