Another example that other countries are just foreign to us.
OK, bad joke. Imagine now people investing in houses or condos and leaving them empty. Any and all housing needs maintenance to keep vermin and water leaks under control. Now image the homeless in the USA break in, start living there and do so for while and the real owner has no idea. The owners will never get to evict those squatters with the silly laws we have.
Anyone that owns multiple houses knows it is a big expense to maintain a house in another state. Vacation homes are expensive, but lots of people have them so certainly not unheard of.
I had a rent house for several years and I will never do that again. We dumped cash into our house and it is paid for. This is a our perfect house, and I am not moving until it is feet first or in a wheel chair. Now I invest in my company and stocks and I am happy to let others own multiple houses. It is not for me.