Triplex in college town

[Fernando Guerra]

Whats up guys! My first post here, after reading a lot about real estate (few books, listening to the podcast and practicing with a few numbers to see if they would work). I think im finally able to semi confidently decide if something could work. My brother is about to head to college and I was thinking about perhaps putting a down payment on a triplex were he could live, after showing my parents the money he will spend on rent during his 4 years ( about 14400$ since rent around the university is about 300$) they have decided they could pay half the down payment (10k) if I instead don't charge him to live there. The property would therefor have almost no cashflow during those 4 years(I know, I know cash flow is key, but this is kind of a weird situation).  What do you guys think? I know I haven't given much information on the financials but that's because there are many triplexes , duplexes and quads around but the answer to whether or not it would be a good idea still remains. At the same time he says he wouldn't mind being the landlord for the time being (with my help as well of course).