How to protect yourself with new partners. Contractor Lien?

[Dan N.]

Hi everyone, I found a fellow investor that buys distressed houses, rents out some and flips others. I trust him but since this is our first deal, I wanted to see what protections are out there to protect my investment. I was offered a deal to do a joint venture on one of the houses that needs a little work ($7-10k). The plan is to flip it. If I would pay for the rehab then I would get an agreed upon return. In Florida, it seems like a contractors lien would be the way to go to ensure I would get paid back. Has anyone done a deal similar to this? Thanks for any advice! Dan