Buying investment properties in Valencia or Barcelona

[Adriano Triana]

Hello fellow BP friends. I recently moved to Barcelona with my gf and two dogs and we are considering starting our real estate journey with our first investment property either in Barcelona or Valencia. Originally I was going to buy back home in Tampa, Florida but now that we moved abroad and don't see ourselves going back to the US any time soon we have kind of decided to shift focus into the Spanish real estate market. 

The problem is that I know a lot about the real estate strategies that I can do back in the US but Spain is a whole different ball game. We have a decent amount of cash to be able to invest so I'm trying to figure out what kinds of investment strategies local RE experts in Spain are doing. I have read a bit about how its difficult to BRRRR in Spain due to the banks in Spain basically making it extremely difficult/impossible to refinance a mortgage and take cash out. So, I'm wondering about what other options I have. Am I right in saying that it seems like fix & flipping might be the best approach in Spain? I know STR's are tough due to the tourist license's being heavily controlled/shut down in Barcelona. I have seen a few people mention that house hacking is possible as well but tricky to find a property that can support that approach. Back in the US I was constantly looking for multi-family properties but in Barcelona and Valencia I haven't seen any multi-unit opportunities really...

I'd love to have long term rentals in Barcelona/Valencia but unless I'm getting a crazy good deal, this approach will require a lot of capital for the downpayment requirements of 30% for financing. Can probably get two ~400k properties with financing before my cash runs out. 

Basically if you are an investor in Spain specifically in Barcelona or Valencia, I'd love to hear about the strategies you have seen work the best over the last couple years and anything else you can tell me to look out for when investing here. 

Thanks!