Question about partnering out of state

I have a good friend that lives in a low cost of living area where we grew up. He already owns a few single family rentals. Our market is prohibitively expensive, so I would like to invest outside our area. My friend and I discussed partnerning on some properties in the low CoL area. We would both contribute to the down payments, but he would act as the property manager since he is local. If there's rehab needed, I would fly down for the week and we would work on this together. I'd be happy to do some of the other tasks remotely, screening renters, etc.

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If he is acting as the property manager, what would be a fair way to set up this partnership? Would I put more in the down payment or do we pay him more each month like we would a 3rd party management company? Ideally, we would be reinvesting any cash flow for further properties.

Any suggestions on other tasks I can do remotely to make it more equitable?

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How should we set up this agreement? Do we need to talk to a lawyer, set up an LLC, or just write our own formal contract?

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Any other tips from people who have done this type of partnership with one person out of state?