Found a private lender. Now what?

[Trent M.]

I have found a family member that's willing to give me a loan for a rental property. This is the first time for both of us.

How do I make this a legit deal? Do we need to contact a lawyer? Do people use generic documents?

I'm not sure where to go from here. Any help or information would be much appreciated!

[Clayton Silva]

Short answer: yes get a lawyer involved always

Long answer: the other stuff depends.  What is the exit strategy?  How do they get paid back?  It does not always make sense to have the note recorded on title as it can cause other complications down the road, but that also means much less protection for the lender so it really depends on the circumstances.  No matter what, have a good real estate attorney draft docs for both your protection and lender's.