The main reasin is for a better clearance of liability. with you editing a signed contract, that has a high Probability of letting a tenant be able to void the contract and it actually happening.

Quote from @Jessie Matlock:One of my main questions is, I've been told I'll receive a K1 statement and that my monthly returns will be tax free. 1) Is it true they will be tax free? 

And DIY repairs are not recommended for other reasons: it will take you much longer to complete, depriving you of rental income, and you run a high risk of your wife becoming your ex-wife.Same risk exists if you push your wife into becoming a Realtor or some other real estate activity just for the sake of tax benefits.

Deal Machine is good mainly for D4D. 

One of the main issues is insurance companies NOT insuring many of these areas.

The mortgage is currently under my name, so I’m unsure what benefits, if any, I’d gain from using an LLC in this situation.

It has almost zero benefit to have it to just represent yourself. 

As far as I know, your assumptions about the tax implications are correct for non residents, it was one of the main factors that stopped the idea of investing in Spain for me.

I'm a fellow real estate investor and I own properties throughout New Hampshire and Maine Southern Coast, I'd love to connect and bounce ideas off each other. 

.—(1) Whenever money is deposited or advanced by a tenant on a rental agreement as security for performance of the rental agreement or as advance rent for other than the next immediate rental period, the landlord or the landlord’s agent shall either:(a) Hold the total amount of such money in a separate non-interest-bearing account in a Florida banking institution for the benefit of the tenant or tenants.