Maybe it's a larger home (say 5 bedrooms) and it's not near a university or college so students wouldn't want to live there, and the market for huge rentals lik

Maybe it's a larger home (say 5 bedrooms) and it's not near a university or college so students wouldn't want to live there, and the market for huge rentals like that isn't very good. Or maybe the market rent for the type of house is lower than the expected price appreciation /and/ you can sell it for me if it hasn't been lived in, so it's worthwhile to sit & flip rather than rent it out.