They are trying to rent a house they do not own. 

You don't want to distract the buyers from the house with too many items or stuff.

The answer is yes, but it is generally found when the owner is also living in at least one unit (aka "House Hacking").

Small multi-family is hot right now due to house-hacking (low barrier of entry), and future cash-flow. 

Most traditional property managers don’t handle this setup due to challenges like managing tenant disputes, coordinating overlapping move-ins/outs, and the risk of Fair Housing violations when selecting tenants.

Focus on analyzing properties and starting small, like house hacking or buying a single-family home to rent out rooms, while ensuring cash flow and maintaining an emergency fund.

These cash outs got me 14 houses with no out of pocket $.

I am selling some land and some tiny houses i built this year but you know how that can be.

There is also an ad on small "house" which is also being rented.

So I would suggest keeping your STR property geographically close and doing as much as possible to keep your profit% high as possible.As far as the actual house you use, I would just say - be honest, be fair and strive for the best area, most amenities, cleanest house, best communication, and any other extras you can get.