I do know people that rent in this market with success, but not without considerable headaches (I do not own rentals in this market). 

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

There are few cases where you can do 90 days with no rehab however there will be a final consideration of value from underwriting, which may or may not cut the value. 

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

That's not a lot 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.

Most collection companies charge a percent of the money collected.

Fairly new to the RE game. What recommendations/advice does the community have for NEWBIE out of state investors?

Its a consideration, but unfortunately not as simple a solution as I would hope for.