Beginner Questions Regarding a BRRRR Partnership

[Seth Hochberg]

I'm new to Real Estate, and am currently in the process of working out the details of a partnership with someone. In a nutshell, we're looking to do one BRRRR together, where I provide most of the capital, and she provides all of the labor (managing rehab, inspections, tenants, etc.). We've worked out many of the high level terms, including how to split costs, profits, and equity, and we've worked through how we'd approach many hypothetical scenarios (eg what happens if we cant recoup X amount of capital, etc.).

We recently got stuck on a few points and I'd love to hear any insight. 

1) Do We Need a Legal Partnership Entity: Is it possible to form this partnership just as two individuals rather than through an LLC or other legal entity? We have an agreed upon plan that I mentioned above: I pay for the house, put both of our names on the title, and she manages the rehab and gets it rented out. We've also agreed on how to split costs, profit, and equity. Could we just meet with an attorney who draws up a contract outlining this agreement and sign it? Simple as that? Is this commonly done? Or is there always some form of legal partnership (LLC, Joint Venture, etc). I don't know much about the different types of legal partnerships, but I'm a fan of just signing a contract outlining an agreement for simplicity sake.

2) Difficulty Obtaining Private Lending: Is the private financing trickier in any way because of a partnership? I have capital, but I will need ~50% more for our plans. If I reach out to a hard money lender or a private lender, would it be any more difficult because there are two people working on the project? I imagine private lending is more about building a relationship and hard money lending is more about the property itself.

3) Complications With Cash Out Refinance: Is it possible that I buy the property entirely with my own funds (plus some private lending), put both of our names on the title, and then have the cash-out refinance be entirely in my partner's name? Or does the cash out refinance need to be in both of our names? Or do we need to be looking at a partnership vehicle (eg LLC, Joint Venture, etc.)