ANY company or developer that has to give you a free flight, hotel or car stay WELL AWAY... they have to do that for  a reason as they dont have a good reputation locally.Happy to advise for anyone wanting further UAE knowledge on real estate.

What if it is 90% occupied with employees of one company.   

When I first began, working with a property management company, they asked me to provide (and list clearly) the starter set that came with the house.

Reason being, I hired a property management company (just now) and they're wonderful, they start officially in a couple days. 

Having a long-term rental while living abroad is do-able.Flipping houses while abroad, in my opinion, more difficult, especially if its your first go around with real estate.I would recommend taking a flight and staying in the area for a week and inspect the neighborhoods and make connections.You can reach out to @Elenis Camargo who has a PM company in Jacksonville.Best of luck though.

Here in the USA you need what's called a "construction loan" and it's also very hard to find a company that will insure you if you're a newbie.

you are going up against people and companies that spend thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars a month in marketing. 

There aren’t many residential development companies operating at this level, which reduces competition and risk.

Quote from @Mark Forest: The company I have invested with has done a great job explaining why this is happening and what they are doing about it. 

Of course, I run a cost segregation company BUT I would recommend that regardless.