@ColeenD3 now say you are doing some remodel and the house is completely unlivable then yeah the house is not available for rent. Or if the HVAC system was broken and the water utility is not hooked up I would think that it is not available for rent. So between the time that you have it on the market for sale you are doing work on the house that prevents it from being rented out then IRS may say hey you can't just take your good ole time selling your house writing off the losses while fixing it on your tax return.
