The main thing to watch out for with any financing to the 401k is that you are not personally guaranteeing the loan.

I enjoy having rental property and plan to pursue more deals in the future, but for now I just need to get into my own home.

Sounds like termites are the ones to watch out for with the wood frames.

Of course we jump from job to job . when the drywall crew shows up , I am not going to stand there with 3 guys and watch them hang drywall . ( I will but I will be billing ) No we go and demo another job .  

But watch out the lease expiration date though, if they decide not to renew the lease, you may take a long time to fill up all those spaces

Andrew Major - Why not buy a too big house, rent your spare cheaply furnished bedrooms by the bedroom on a 6-12 mo lease, rent out your room during your deployment and watch the cash flow in?

I'm really enjoying the ride thus far, and I'm looking forward to expanding.

The goal is to create enough of a passive stream of income that I can quit the 9-5 and focus on things I actually enjoy.

Not that we're avid enthusiasts, but we enjoy skiing, scuba diving, etc. 

@Eric Bilderback, it might be a big mistake to rely on "all of the same assumptions", going forward.Yes, you've enjoyed great appreciation thanks to Banks making lending easy, (almost desperately), for lower and lower interest rates due to competitive forces.