He is very good about deductions on tax returns so his income looks negligible and of course banks wont talk to him about loans.

Most banks don't really know how to do that because they cater to SFH owner-occupants. 

Go to small local/regional banks NOT national ones.

@Adam Newman yeah, not understanding your statements, "I have $50k plus about 7k in the bank" and "take out a loan and go in with 20% from the start?".

;(- if as-is value is less then the balance on the mortgage + arears OOOPS you need to have the owner work with the bank, you as the investor buyer AND a short sales expert often an agent work the tedious and usually failing short sale process. 

Hi Jayce, we got the seller to carry back the portion of the down payment and the bank to finance the 1st position on the rest.

I bout one in 2019 and it has turned into a gem for me, but at the time, it would not have been 1.25 1.25x is a very common DSCR for a bank.

You might find a local credit union or community bank that will go to 95 -100%.At one point I called 2 different VA Regional Loan Centers regarding this section in the VA lenders handbook:Assumability - The second mortgage should not restrict theVeteran’s ability to sell the property any more thanthe VA first mortgage.

I think the LLC also makes it easier to open a local bank account, which is convenient to pay utilities or other local bills or your property manager, etc.  

Yes, Spain is one of the countries in which banks will lend to non-residents (they generally don't) but Spanish banks are much more conservative than US banks so it's more difficult to qualify, especially if you don't earn W2 income.