Is there any kind of gov't assistance he or I can get to supplement his rent during his deployment?

A typical buyer will be a Baby Boomer with some cash who needs both a place to live and some supplemental income.In any event, don't get locked into a single RE investment track by simply following crowd.

Flipping, to me, does not seem to be the way to build long term wealth, it's more of a supplement.

I am interested in getting involved in real estate investing with little or no money down with the ultimate objective of creating passive income to supplement my W-2 job. 

I would bet you have to replace your hvac system due the volume increase or provide supplemental system.   

Plus I don't think it will fly with using the 1031 funds unless you have a warchest of money outside of the 1031 or hard money to supplement the costs.

I really like my job and the company I work for and have no plans on leaving, but would definitely like to supplement my income with some additional rental property.  

I have good capital and can qualify for conventional financing, I don't need a ton of cash flow, but I do want to net maybe $200 or so and build up my portfolio to eventually bring in 1k-2k in supplemental income and then retire on these properties.Anyone that is willing to share advice with me on the following:1- What are some current hot markets that give you the best bang for your buck?

Like many others, I went to a seminar and got sold on the idea of real estate investing as a way of supplementing or even replacing my current income.

Based on what you've said it doesn't appear you're looking for  tax write-off so what you'd wind up with is a a cash burden chasing presumed appreciation and unless Costa Mesa is an on-fire seller's market you'd probably not experience a great leap in equity in one year.I own rental property that generates income monthly and nets me about $30k per year as an income supplement.