Partnering in Flipping. Contract or LLC?

[Christopher Lightner]

A friend of mine and I are trying to start flipping houses in our local area. We are each contributing 50% of the money and have already decided to split the profits 50/50 as long as the workloads seem remotely equal (read as a LOT of flexibility.) The question we keep coming back to though is what form of legal entity our real estate flipping enterprise should take, if it should take one at all. We have considered creating and signing a contract that states the expectations of both parties, but are not sure how real estate law effects our situation. While I am not expecting "legal advice" I would like to hear how others in this situation have gone about it in the past and how that course of action worked out for them as well as any suggestions and seasoned flippers may have.