More and more foreigners are investing and it's practically impossible to find a interesting deals that are not "on plans" - delivery planned for mid 2018 (the earliest).Would love to catch up in Barcelona in May and discuss about that in more details ;-)

I recommend newbies live in and study a market for 1 year before buying, and I practice what I preach ... the few times I did not follow this, I have come to regret it.

For crime, I suggest checking out the local law enforcement websites or places like spotcrime.com.Check out some articles here, here, and here.I know this might seem counterintuitive, since almost everyone uses this kind of information when deciding on what property to purchase, but as far as I know and have been trained, this is the recommended best practice for any real estate professional in light of the Fair Housing Act and the prohibition against "steering."

If I am making over 5k I will use a simultaneous closing.

Structure your partnership on even draws - for example, if you are going to be a 30% partner, and you're going to buy a house for $100k, don't part with your $30k until they are simultaneously parting with their $70k.

It seems to be common practice and expected.

NPNs are for advanced practicers of paper, who have the expertise to deal with them, who have significant money reserves to deal with people who aren't paying on their mortgage.

I think I would start building capital, probably with a job, while simultaneously looking to find private lenders that could help finance a flip or maybe even a hold. 

But that's not a practical or timely solution.

You can also do a simultaneous close or double close.