In the way that you described it above - I don't think it would be worth it. Think about the time you would be investing into continually researching what is most profitable - that on top of building and maintaining the setup that is a lot of time you would need to invest. I would recommend starting off small first before you rent out a place.

I think if you start mining you learn more about PoW and appreciate it more. Giving back to the community is a different thing. I think it will be problematic sharing the profits between your friends because if one of your friends finds something they want to mine and you disagree what would you do then?

Also you can't check hardware once or twice a week - you'd have to check it at least once every two days to ensure that it is working. I've had this conversation with a friend recently, I advised him to just invest it because a 3x flip is much easier than the time and effort you'll put into mining. Good hardware and good rigs are hard to find for cheap.  Just my opinion - maybe since there are more of you the labour would be less intense and you'll have better communication and info sharing!