As a parent of a son who is starting his sophmore year at Indiana University Bloomington this year, I thought about doing this for him. 

My parents have a small portfolio of single family homes that have all been paid off this past year leaving them with about a 1.5 million in equity and have HELOC's are in place on a few of those properties.  

I see them paying anywhere from $450+utilities to $700+utilities to rent rooms without a pool compared to paying $800-$1200/mo for 4/4 apartments.Some students who rent rooms come from families with money so their parents can co-sign as well.

It is basically impossible for anyone here to afford real estate except for wealthy overseas investors, those who had houses handed down to them from their parents/family, and the top 1% of income earners. 

I think if you have the mindset you are replacing a hotel no sheets seems weird. 

Better to stick with your own agent who understands the mindset of an investor and is willing to write a bunch of very low offers knowing you'll likely do many deals together.If you can offer cash that will put you in a very strong position with the seller.And yes, a lot of investors look for the very same things you describe.

I’m new to the community and I believe I have my mind set on multi family’s.

While home ownership is usually associated with stability and security to many, that stability and security can be a double edge sword become if your circumstances change.When our parents and grandparents bought their homes, they probably expected to stay in the same area, near their families, working for the same employer for most of their life.

By adding you on title during his life, you could be subjecting yourself to larger capital gains later down the line than if you inherited the property.3) property tax issues - does your father have any parent-child exclusion left so that the property is not going to get reassessed partially as a result of this transfer? 

I was assured by both the former owner and my RE agent that he was a reliable tenant and was just waiting for funding from his parent company in South Africa.