Not to mention that a hotel doesn’t care about individual metering for units.

You always want to take care of honest, reliable and amazing workers and if he is like that renting to him would definitely be a great way to take care of him.

See the attached linkhttp://city.milwaukee.gov/AreaPlans/NearWest.htm#....Some of the local bigger players/companies  supporting the project are Harley Davidson, Miller Coors, Marquette HS, Marquette university, Aurora Health care and  West End Development Corporation.

My brothers didn't seem to care much but the issue of "appreciation" was brought up too.

Sorry I am not more knowledgeable on the subject- I use a local CPA, Deweese & Associates and she takes care of it for us.TristanP.S.

There are lots of ways to avoid that destruction of capital (that don't include giving it to children).And some people care about people other than just themselves.

Think very, very carefully about getting into business with friends. 

So, he probably would want me to put down 10-15% to have skin in the game.How should I approach the topic to get the deal for zero down?

I also figured if I get the right tenant I can negotiate lower rent for certain things like lawn care and such but again these are just thoughts running through my head at the moment. 

So, I usually see new RE investors get their best starts by jumping in and buying something manageable.That said I think you are wise to be careful to invest in a seller's market.My advice: dig hard to find a deal then jump on it.