Landlords many times have other objectives rather than being cash flow positive. One might want to speculate on the future price of the property. So instead of

Landlords many times have other objectives rather than being cash flow positive. One might want to speculate on the future price of the property. So instead of having empty the property they just rent it. This is obvious in the west coast where rent is so much cheaper than monthly payment of a 30yr mortgage. Other landlords use property to just launder money. So any income is useful.