EquityBuild and its leaders, Jerome Cohen and son Shaun Cohen, raised at least $135 million from more than 900 investors starting in 2010, according to a civil fraud lawsuit filed by the SEC last August.

I plan to re-kindle this relationship and work on deals for free for him as I know he has a lot of capital from a very successful exit earlier in his career.During this time without a strict job I also want to travel to different cities (funded mostly by credit card points and crashing on friends/family couches).

Did you receive a business card? 

Take a cash advance on a 0% interest credit card ;) 

It could be possible if you could find one that needs work, make some repairs and raise the rents.

Also, I do agree with the concern others have raised regarding turnover/vacancy. 1 beds and studios often mean single people, students etc, so turnover can be a real issue.

I would force appreciation if are able to add value, raise rents, decrease expenses and refinance asap to pull the free money out.

You invest money with a professional real estate investor who is basically doing (A) above and he raises money from others to buy and manage deals.

For $25K, you could probably find a loan, low-rate credit card, or something similar.

Raising the tent a lot will likely not cover these losses for the first year, but you may be better off long term.