Lawyer for Real Estate Partnership?

[Eric B.]

I live, and now I invest, in Illinois. My partner lives in Georgia. By partner, I mean money partner. We have a verbal agreement that he provides the funds while I provide pretty much everything else (finding properties, due diligence, research, attending auctions, boots-on-the-ground activities, etc.) for properties within the state of Illinois.

It's a great agreement and I enjoy it. We have bought one property together, and plan to buy many more. Before him I spent years staring at great deals I couldn't touch because I just didn't have the money.

He is hungry for more Illinois properties, and so am I. We trust each other and enjoyed doing this first deal together. But we're also both realistic enough to understand that this is business, and all parties involved should be as protected as possible.

So now here is my question: is there a standard contract for such an arrangement as ours, or do I need to get a lawyer? And if the answer is the latter, then can you recommend any good lawyers that will work with a guy with a tight budget? (If this person does title searches as well, that would be a plus!) I live in Chicago, in case that affects who you would recommend. I invest in counties all over the state.

[Mark Ainley]

@Eric B. How do you hold the properties? In and LLC, s corp, or your personal names? If in an entity then an operating agreement would spell out your relationship. If needed I can refer you to an attorney that can draft something like this up.