They make money and stay in business by taking your payments, and not paying out claims.

Make money, save money, buy a house in a neighborhood they believed in, manage it well, and hold it forever.

That's not a lot money!

Yes, I don't want to waste time, but I also don't want tenants wasting their money.

It's another form of borrowing money.

They're not going to waste their time helping foreigners knowing that many will end up not buying.I'm happy to refer you to my lawyer once you have found a property but it's better that you choose one in the region and province you're going to invest in as there could be "legal" differences pertaining to you.On another note, it's important that you realize that strategies that work in the US might not work in Spain and financing is different so you might want to figure out first if that works for you first to make sure you don't waste time and money unnecessarily.Hope this helps.

We had to wash the walls, then prime and paint them, as well as washing and painting the cabinet faces in the kitchen (building is in a C neighborhood).

You'll save on realtor's fees.One thing to remember is unless you are flipping, selling a rental and buying a new one frequently is going to lose you money. 

Most collection companies charge a percent of the money collected.

I deposit my paychecks there and for all the time the money would usually sit idle until the bills are paid, the heloc interest calculates daily, so it would be lowered by my deposited income.