That's been going on for a few years. There's no catch, but the buyer does have to make them livable in a certain amount of time. The homes are in towns that have lost population.
~
Japan has 9 million vacant houses that can be bought for cheap. The houses are vacant because of low birth rate in Japan. One guy from Sweden has been buying a few and renting them on Airbnb. He's making a killing on income. He fixed one up for himself an lives in it while he manages his Airbnb houses.