What would you look for in a partnership with a contractor?

[Alex Huang]

I was approached by a contractor who I've had a personal relationship before business. The GC is near my age and we've known each other for many years. He owns a business that handles rehabs and construction for big commercial chain stores and brings a great deal of expertise in that area. He is also 100% trustworthy.

We recently broached the subject of a potential partnership with RE. It is something he had been wanting to get into, but he lacked the knowledge or time of finding properties, running numbers, etc (something I love to do). The idea spurred of potentially creating a partnership where I handle the RE side of things and he handles all of the rehab side of things. The arrangement is appealing because the rehab would be 100% hands-off for me and his existing business already has the capabilities of making countertops, cabinets, etc. A good bit of vertical integration (yay business school terms!) that can assist in RE projects.

Beyond the obvious things like having everything in writing, explicitly stating what each person's roles are, etc -- I would be curious to hear from others.

What would your ideal GC partner bring to the table in a partnership arrangement?