How would I handle this type of partnership?

[Wendy McLean]

Hello BPers,

We are new to REI and also have limited funds. My hubby and I are self-employed and so conventional loans are a challenge for us. My friend, who is in the military, is interested in becoming RE partners/investors with us. She has an available sum of money (almost $300,000) left over from her last home purchase that she can use to purchase another home, if she wanted to. I'm not sure how it works when you're in the military but how she explained it is she had an approved amount of $600,000 at the time she bought her house, her home cost a little over $300,000 so she has the remainder left over. If we did decide to partner with her, I'm not sure how to work out the details of our partnership, the property would be in her name obviously and I'm thinking we could split the profits 50/50 because she's bringing money to the table and we're bringing our construction/property mgmt expertise to the table. Should we set-up an LLC for this? Any advice? Thanks!