It's a gamble, though.Just be sure what you do is legal.  

If you're already heavily invested in capital gains stocks and your primary residence, I would say that you are introducing too much risk into your overall portfolio by buying (with leverage) an appreciation-only triplex.If you have a lot of other investments which generate cash-flow like dividend producing stock or cashflow REI and you like to gamble, I don't see a problem at all with buying this property hoping for some appreciation.Also, I would be wary saying you don't need the cash flow if you are only offsetting the negative cashflow with income from your job.  

Or if you are willing to gamble that investment money in the hands of strangers.I wouldn't be.You may think I'm just a negative person.  

And yes, there were a lot of lint at at the bottom of the machine.... just waiting to be ignited.

But most modern furnaces have electronic ignition, so there is no pilot light to burn.

Second, if they've been there forever,  do u want to gamble a possible long term tenant but with low rent or higher rent with possibly a lot of turnovers? 

If I make 9% in the market I'm doing a great job, but if I make -9% I'm screwed, so that seems like a huge gamble compared to a guaranteed ROI. 

This seems like a reasonable gamble.

It is a quadraplex and so if I got a full occupancy then all the effort will have ben worth the gamble.

That seems like a crazy gamble.