Bulk material purchase suppliers for apartment complex reno

[Tab Teehee]

Hello all! Well it finally happened....we closed on our 20 unit property in Oklahoma on 5/31 and now it’s time for the complete overhaul!!! I’ve already spent months working on a budget, searching the big box stores websites, online auction sites, etc. and have a pretty good idea of what my materials cost should be. I’m just wondering if anyone can provide some personal experience of negotiating with the big box stores on bulk purchases? I’ve been told that most have something like a “bid room” or department if your purchases exceed a certain dollar amount? I’ve also been in touch with a company called Maintence supply headquarters, that provided me a very reasonable turnkey materials quote for each unit that included everything from door hinges to full appliance package. I’m afraid I’ll end up stressing about saving a few bucks only to end up with delays that will slow the process of getting my units finished, rented and profitable. I’m also concerned with quality of materials and maybe I should accept that things get replaced more often in an apartment and just buy the cheapest of everything I can find? Anyway I’m 2 weeks into this deal and expect all the demo, repairs and paint to be wrapped up in the next couple of weeks and I’ll begin furnishing all the units with new stuff.