Legally, there are many ways to structure the partnership, such as the ones you mention. It depends on who is bringing what to the partnership (money, knowledge, skills, time, effort, etc.) It also depends on the level of trust and need for safety of each partner. For example, if a partner wants to be assured that all of his/her principal and interest will be returned, then he/she would be most comfortable as a debt partner (like a bank) where the terms are secured by the real estate. If the partner is willing to take more of a risk for a greater return, then an equity partnership might work best. Then you both share the risk and returns, depending on your contributions. Keep in mind that a partnership is very much like a financial marriage. Things can look great going in but they often fall apart. So you need to hope for the best but plan for the worst with a good "pre-nup" contract so everyone is clear. I can help you with this if you want to protect your partnership going in, hopefully to have a long and profitable relationship. Hope this helps and best of luck!

Hello there and thanks for checking in. I agree that it may not be so good to keep cash sitting in a retirement fund, better to have it deployed wisely and making money for you. Putting funds into assets that could appreciate more than cash, especially if you might end up living nearby could be a lot safer. But be careful investing in a declining market, especially one so inflated as Canada. Many US markets are now rebounding from their bottom and possibly better investments. Canada does not have LLCs, but if you invest in the US, they are an excellent tool to protect your assets and often save yourself a lawsuit. Canada has some other entities that may give you similar protection, such as a corporation or partnership, so if you invest only in Canada we would need to look into those. Hope this helps.