I wanted to start a discussion on how you save money on rehab projects.    I do a lot of on-line shopping at houzz and Amazon.   

@Allen Phelps

I do AirBNB and I live near a college. The best way to get free furniture is to wait until the end of the semester. Students throw away brand new stuff all the time. Craigslist, go to the ‘materials’ section, sometimes you’ll find bulk drywall or other building some dude is trying to get rid of.

Showing up in person at your different suppliers and going through their clearance and scratch and dent stuff takes time but will save you tons.

For counters I almost exclusively use remnants and negotiate to get them for pennies on the dollar.

I have done both of those before too.  Bathrooms are really good for remnants.  

Thanks for posting.

@Allen Phelps I feel the best way to save money is to know your target audience and be aware of your property price point. Over-renoating is the number 1 budget killer.

Wait for closeouts at the big box retailers. Also consider buying in bulk if you know you will need that item in the near future. 

Places around me like "Stardust" or "Re-store". Repurposed or new overstock items on everything that goes Into a house https://stardustbuilding.org/ https://habitatcaz.org/

Buy in bulk and getting tons of discount coupon. Use the sub contractor to reduce the cost. Don't overkill on the rehab.

@Allen Phelps 1. Use same paint color, flooring, cabinets etc on every project. Enables bulk buying and saves on turnover costs 2. Less is better, avoid extravagance 3. Most important....make your money on the buy....not the sell....means buy smart!!

Thanks for all the replies.  Good information. 

We open business accounts under our LLC wherever we can as this gets us contractor discounts. Some we even get wholesale pricing.

The first step is not over-rehabbing a project.  People get wound up in the tear-out phase and go down to the framing when it wasn't really necessary.  Now they're responsible for code upgrades that could have been avoided by not tearing out the lathe and plaster to put up drywall when it could have just been re-textured and painted or just covered in your Chip and Joanna shiplap right on top of it.

@Allen Phelps best way to save money I’ve found is doing it myself

Originally posted by @Mark Fries :
@Allen Phelps

1. Use same paint color, flooring, cabinets etc on every project. Enables bulk buying and saves on turnover costs 2. Less is better, avoid extravagance 3. Most important....make your money on the buy....not the sell....means buy smart!!

 What type of flooring did you lock in on?

@Terrell Garren Allure at Home depot, khaki oak color. Every property gets it. Replacing damaged planks easy with a heat gun and a drywall knife to pop it out.

@Terrell Garren Vinyl plank

Originally posted by @Mark Fries :
@Terrell Garren

Allure at Home depot, khaki oak color.

Every property gets it. Replacing damaged planks easy with a heat gun and a drywall knife to pop it out.

 Thanks. I used Lowes Project Source wood laminate .68/sq ft on 16 houses.  Low cost, looks very good and durability are pros. Cons are expansion/contraction and damage from moisture.  I used Allure vinyl plank $1.20/sq ft from Home Depot on last 2 houses.  Goes down easy and seems near indestructible; however, does not look as good as wood laminate and you can feel any imperfections in the subfloor.   I guess I will stick with vinyl plank given the replacement process you mention.  Certainly cannot do that with my wood laminate.  BTW, I started using peal and stick vinyl groutable tile in bathrooms. Man, that stuff is low cost, goes down so easy and looks ok. I don't think I will every lay another backer board or mix thinset the rest of my life. 

@Terrell Garren I agree 100% I'm so done with backer board and ceramic tile I can't stand it... This might sound crazy but in one bathroom that was a 36" shower pan I took sheets of 4 by 8 Hardie board with the wood grain and I installed it vertical and I sealed everything good with polyurethane caulk and I painted it with oil based paint....flawless...water just beads up and looks seamless... Total cost, 156 bucks and about 5 hours labor and I got a functioning shower that is virtually indestructable...

@Allen Phelps we shop bargains all the time. Snagged a $783 light fixture for $45 at local Restore—same with tile, trim, flooring. ;)

I visit the clearance section of any/all stores for lighting, appliances, flooring. Recently found LED trims for recessed light cans. Normally $10 they were on clearance for just over $2. I bought 40 of them. Just picked up flooring for my current project under $1/sf for grey tile. 30" grey vanity was a Black Friday deal at $150. There is a 36" wide counter depth stainless fridge at my local store. Normally $1300, special but to $1100 and they have the floor model at $900. Trying to get a coupon and snag it for even cheaper.

@Mark Fries Hi Mark, what paint color do you use to match this floor? Thanks in advance

@Mark Fries does sound crazy. When that paint chips/peels that cement board will soak water.

We have a thrift store near us, but I can't ever seem to time it when they have things we need. 

@Joshua Schoer I actually use white semi gloss for all my walls and trim.

@Max T. 3 years strong..no chips. Used some thick kitchen cabinet epoxy paint. Eventually yes it will fail but a sheet of Hardie board is only like 26 bucks. I just did it as a test run thing I don't do this to all my homes.

Lowe's commercial card 5% off every purchase to start . Buy all you can at a local resale shop . Toilets don't go bad just the inner workings of it like the flap and float . Toilets are clean and cost 15 bucks rebuild kit is 20 . Boom saved a 100 bucks . Also being able to do your own plumbing and basic electric are huge . I've found those are the two highest cost contractors . I hire out everything else .