Advice on a Partnership opportunity

[Matt Inman]

Hi All, I wanted to get opinions on a partnership opportunity. Being relatively new to the REI world I took some advice given here and started talking to people about REI. My neighbor turned out to be a great source of knowledge and I've been chatting with him quite often. He pointed me to another friend of his and I've been talking to him as well about a partnership. He works for a wholesale/rehabbing company and has quite a few contacts in other areas as well.

What we’ve discussed is a partnership where he finds houses in $70K-$80K price range, that with a $15-20K investment can sell for another $20 to 30K on top of that. I would supply the cash for the initial purchase and rehab, he would do all other work involved. I would be listed 1st on the lien on the property as well. We would do an 80-20 split of the profits, 20% to me 80% to him. We are drafting up a contract as well for the partnership.

My questions I have are:
What are my best options for protecting myself and my investment?
How do we handle the partnership agreement?
What haven’t I thought of that I’m going to need to consider?
I have talked to a few people who know him and he has a good reputation as a person who gets things done and knows his business. So I feel good about what he brings to the table.

Thanks,

Matt