BiggerPockets

Yes, you probably can get discounts at certain places...

Larger items like carpet and cabinets you could shop around. Other than that... I go to Home Depot.

I have found that all the extra time and effort "looking" for the best deal doesn't really help that much, and for me, is not worth the effort and extra time.

Im ok knowing that I paid an extra $1000 or so for supplies and materials, but was able to make it easier, while not spending days shopping around and driving in circles picking stuff up.

I would rather use that time looking for my next deal, instead of trying to save a couple bucks.

If you are doing a number of rehabs you can save money by standardizing your materials. I use the same paint and other basic materials on most of my projects. This allows me to buy in bulk without worrying about having too much. Any leftover material just goes to the next project. I tend to use Home depot and Lowe's for most things, this saves a lot of time. However, if I find a good deal on something I will buy it for future use. If your project is a one shot deal, this method probably won't work.

8)

Thanks for the replies....

I can't say that i'm EXACTLY looking for a super good place, and you're right about materials vs time spent.

Have you ever delt with their contractor department? Do they offer discounts at all?

As for the 10% thing...I do know about it, as they are partnered with NAR for providing discounts to us.

For those with many properties in a given area, it is not usually difficult to set up a commercial account with HD or other vendors, which affords varied degrees of discount.

For those with their own shop, many of these vendors also have a " rack" program, where they will set up racks/bins in YOUR facility, stock the items you specify, maintain levels you specify, and bill you on terms. This is sweet, and works great for small to midsize PM operations. No need to GO shopping!

If you are rehabbing, not a rental, you can make killer oak butcher block counter tops out of raw oak flooring.

Hardwood floors Lowes 1.78 a SF machined oak. 10% off coupons help.

Tubs tile, showers, cabinets can be painted for a very reasonable price by people in my line of work, in a day.

I Never replace cabinets, I fix themand laminate them in wod venner and have the doors made custom. Here is my secret link http://www.sierracabinetdoor.com

Cheapest BY FAR. Made in Mexico, he ships them in and out from TExas. ike 10 types of wood and you design yourself with 25 possibilities.

Vanities: Paint them. Use melamine home dept aint and a auto spray gun if possible. replace anything broken it will be hidden by paint.

Appliances: USED

Tile: Now I paint them and just get the cheapest money can buy, even mismatched colors. Before I got it at a supply shop up the street. 50 cents a sf and up. Typically, your gonna pay a buck or more for decent tile no matter what.

Pergo: Same place. .69 cents a foot.

Cabinet pulls, ceiling tile, pool pumps, crown molding: EBAY! Lots of knock off fake products that look real. 25 cents a foot for platic crown, .99 a sf metallic painted ceiling tile, even the real thing was way cheaper. Solid nickel cabinet bar pulls were like 8 each, 12 inches long. For expensive decorative stuff, check ebay for alternatives. Also, a good alternative to ceiling tile is ceiling tile textured WALLPAPER. probably 20 cents a SF at lowes. Looks good as a wainscot too.

Paint: WAL MART!! 9.99 a gallon for color place paint. READ CAREFULLY; ITS MADE BY SHERWIN WILLIAMS!!!! Good paint for theprice! Better than ANY glidden.

Doors: Flea market.

Garage doors: Used in newspaper

Tools: Harbor freight, or online at NORTHERN TOOL! Cheapo knockoffs that last long enough to let you not care when they break.

Best investment EVER: Graco airless spray paint gun. 5 gallon bucket design. 600 bucks Home Depot, the outside of a house was done in 2 hours, the inside in an hour.

Or, pick up an HVLP gun and 4 stage turbine compressor and learn to paint your tubs and such. I did, now its my business. Theres your best material place there. 50 bucks to redo a tub TOPS, 200 for a counter tops, 100 to repaint your cabinets tops, probably 20 cents a SF to do tile tops, BUT its not as easy as it sounds, it really takes skill. You can use midwest chemicals for the chemicals, about the best. The gun will cost around 900-1200 for the kit, both the hose, turbine and gun. But, the gun will pay for itself inone jobIF you can paint without runs or dryspray in your paintjob. They will guide you on the phone to kind of tell you what to use at midwest. I don't recommend te risk unless you canrent anhvlp rig and see if you have the inborn talent to paint, because most people cant just pick up one and paint a tub. Counters are easier though, cabinets are hard like a tub. Most likely you will try it once and never do it again without guidance. Its so hard to do a tub, I STILL get runs time to time, luckily I can fix them with a little device i rigged up. But on a scale of 1-10 its probably a 8-9 in difficulty as a beginner. And, the chemicals are so TOXIC 3 minutes around the fumes without a respirator and you will be struggling for air for 2 days. It can kill you! Not like rust oleum, this stuff is NASTY.

Lowes or Home Depot...

heck maybe even eBay if you want to wait a few days for shipment

You get can get HD coupons by opening a HD credit card. From time to time, they will mail you coupons. I'm sure Lowes would be the same way. It's also a good way to track your expenses. I only charge property expenses to this card. The HD gives you monthly statements and list all the items you bought at HD which is great!

You can find 10% coupons on ebay. I used them on my last major rehab. Spent about $35 on coupons and saved over $750.

If you go to homedepot moving and lowes moving sites you can request them. You can also get them when you do your change of address online via the usps website.
If you sign up with lowes's and homedepot's websites you will get coupons occasionally was well