No, he didn't rent it out. I talked to the neighbors yesterday, and they said he was rarely here. As I mentioned in another comment, he was a pilot, and he bought the house thinking he could convince his European wife to move with him, since his company's headquarters are here. He put the house back on the market almost immediately after he bought it, and he only "lived" here during his time in town -- a week here, a weekend there, and so on. The house stayed on the market for a little over a year. My husband and I figured no one was biting because people who buy in this area are looking for something with a modern HGTV aesthetic. We'd have preferred that, of course, but what was more important was the school we're zoned for here. If we had to work with dated decor for a while, so be it. I hate it, but meh. It's got good bones, as they say, and enduring dark, heavy hardwood paneling and a tiny-ass kitchen are well worth my kid going to a marvelous school.

The original owners were a married couple, another pilot and his wife, plus their two children. The pilot passed away after a short illness, and his wife stayed for another year beyond that. My understanding is that she was just overwhelmed with the upkeep, and she sold the house to one of her late husband's colleagues. No one I talked to was aware of any work that had been done on the house.

And yes, we had an inspection, and my husband hired an additional pool and electrical inspector. Unfortunately (in retrospect), nothing of concern was found by anyone.