Who should pay for materials?

[Lane Babin]

My business partner and I are new to the REI game. We currently have two houses that we have acquired and we are in the process of acquiring contractor bids to renovate them for resale. My question is, should we purchase all of the materials or have the contractor do this? Is there a potential cost savings (i.e. no markup on materiel costs by contractors) by purchasing these materials ourselves if we setup the proper accounts at the supply stores and can receive the same contractor discounts? Are contractors willing to work with this method or do they prefer to run all materials through their business? Just looking for some general input from the past experience of others in the business here.

Thanks,