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.
@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.
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/
@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!!
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.
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!!
@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.
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...
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.
@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 .
@Allen Phelps we tend to shop at Lowes for pretty much everything except specialty windows. We have a 10% discount (military) that is assigned to our cars and the. I work with pro services people to get costs together. They can rub a QSP (quote savings plan) and it can save as high as 17% on top of sales. I don’t stick the the same paint color and scheme with every house—Boring as heck. Each house is its our deal—and I make it as functional as possible for future families. Women notice things like that—super pretty and functional kitchen, laundry area, entry way (where kids drop their stuff). It’s things like this that has caused clients to flock to us for redesigns/renovations.
I also shop FB market place and have developed a relationship with thrift stores so they will literally call me if it’s something they thing I’ll use. And we are in the process of snagging a warehouse so we can keep inventory of deals on hand.
I also build things into my design that I use as selling points—mold resistant/hypoallergenic, easy to clean etc. I’m a woman and take creating homes for other mothers with kids very seriously and it is because of this that people know, like and trust me and have paid more to work with me than other people....the human factor is something I see many real estate peeps ignore and rather focus just on the dollar. That’s a huge mistake, in my opinion.