He's a sales guy and I really don't want it to sound like a generic pitch.

The information was pretty generic but i still felt ripped off and played ,and it was only a buck.This happens time and time again you learn by doing researching not by spending large sums of money on some system 

Now, I don't necessarily want to just walk away from a great career, instead I want to supplement my normal income with passive income.

There are many reasons but just to list few - economy of scale (more scalable, all the expenses will spread over a larger amount of the units), financing you can get a commercial loan with many advantages (assumable, options for supplemental loans ..etc).

Ultimately I would like to 1031 exchange for a nice-sized apartment complex somewhere to supplement my retirement income from the Navy by the time retirement hits in the next 15 years.

REI is a great way to supplement the 1099 or W-2.

It's a generic answer but it truly depends on your local market.

I originally signed of for the Real Estate Course for $4,400 and then got "talked into" the more generic "Choose to Be Rich" program when the financing looked like it was not going to happen.

Would you guys agree with this as a generic starting point? 

The sellers are a retired couple that will use the home sale to supplement their pastor's retirement.