If you are specific about what you mean by an "investor," an Agent will be more helpful. 

I owe specific thanks to @Scott Trench for his book, Set For Life, which played a big part in my decision making process, as well as @Brandon Turner and @Joshua Dorkin.I've spent the last 3 years behind a desk as an MLO for one the country's biggest hard money lender, working specifically with brokers across the country to facilitate loans on behalf of their clients, and the learnings from that position and the time I've spent on BP, reading the BP publications and forums has given me the confidence to undertake this life changing pursuit.If you or someone you know/partner with is looking for financing on any upcoming real estate investment, let me know - I strive to be of value and have an extensive lender network to ensure quick terms and reliable financing.

@Dave Foster or @Bill Exeter can give more specific details.

And yes you can allocate the partnership item 50 50 but the agreement needs to have specific languages such as deficit makeup requirement and other that shows both the partner bears an economic loss in the partnership. 

Oh yeah, I want to specifically thank @ Andrew Fidler for his knowledge and guidance.

I don't think local forums get that specific.

You aren't necessarily going to find books specific to out-of-state investing.

Not knowing the specific of your situation, it's hard to tell, but generally speaking, the less properties you have, the more you can afford to just use your name.

It's not that simple math is wrong, it's just that you can open your mind up to much more possibilities, like investing in appreciating markets, once you become knowledgeable about 2 things, 1) Sophisticated Math and 2) Economics so you can read the future of the market.Personally, I don't know how any Investor doesn't want to learn enough about Economics to get a gauge on how the next 10 years in their specific Area of investing may turn out.Will it be like Detroit, which went bankrupt but you could easily have seen that if you paid attention to the 3 Big Auto Makers?

@Nik S. you can go with a traditional Builders risk, but there are other insurance programs specifically built for the flipper.