Purchasing scratch and dent/repaired appliances from Lowes?

[Gil Lieblich]

I was searching for appliances for a foreclosure property i bought and i was speaking to another investor who said he goes to the lowes and depot and every week looking for good deals and keeps back up items as he owns many properties and constantly needs to replace things.
So I made some calls and contacted the store manager at a local lowes as they seem to have the largest supplies and asked them to find me scratch and dents/ repaired or discontinued appliances. They found me most at a substantial discount and in the end I got a fridge, stove, microwave, dishwasher, washer dryer for under $2000. (even stainless steel dishwasher and front load washer dryers)
Is there any reason i should not do this for future rentals?

[Bill Gulley]

Nope, especially if they are dented on the sides and they fit between cabinets!

[Ramon Jenkins]

Sometime you can find some good deals via
discount / clearance room

Make sure locate the defects before purchasing
Some can be very minor or major

Try also getting a few more bucks off of your purchases
or my favorite free delivery

I personally check here locally:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Home depot
American television
Colder’s
Steinhafels
Sear’s - main distribution center –
Lowes

Most likely they will not offer deferred payments option, fyi

[Gil Lieblich]

i was able to get from lowes a few dollars off from the a couple of teh scratch and dents... then an additional 10% then an additional 5% and delivery... So i guess it was a good deal and i will keep a good relationship with this manager.

[James H.]

I have bought all my appliances scratch and dent. I have bought them from appliance stores rather than big name stores, but I would not discriminate. Usually the blemishes are not very noticeable. Often times they still come with a warranty.

[Christopher Boggs]

I found a wholesale company that will sell me a 53 ft semi load of LG appliances, scratch / dent / returns (doesn't fit or buyers remorse) The load will cost 20% to 25% of the retail price. The load includes washers, dryers, fridges, ranges, Over-The-Range microwaves, and dishwashers. I have a warehouse to store them in.

I am currently only doing 2 flips, but I plan to start more next month as soon as these are done. I would definitely have to unload some of the fridges though because there are twice as many fridges as there are everything else.

Do you guys think this is worth pursuing?

[Christopher Boggs]

Brian Hoyt - What percentage of retail do you usually pay for your scratch and dents? Do the higher end appliances tend to have a larger discount? Do you have any experience with LG appliances?

[James H.]

Christopher Boggs,

I don't recall off hand what percent - somewhere around 70%. I have some LG front load washer and dryier machines and they have worked well for the past 4+ years.

I thimk my gas stove is LG also.

[Chris K.]

I buy all mine from the mom and pop scratch and dent places. Not sure what type of property you're renting But I can easily score a decent fridge and oven for $350 total.

[Gil Lieblich]

It appeared to me that i purchased the scratch and dents/repaired stuff for about 70% off give or take. I bought a new stove just because they didnt have any scratch and dents and i was constrained by time.

[William Bannister]

At a scale of buying a set of appliances for a house say 5 units= stove frig,washer,dryer,dishwasher save at least 1k buying used scratch and dent. I have a few places I go in this town to get them cheaper.
Doing a rehab on a 12 unit building or a larger project imagine the savings.
Chris Boggs you have a good idea getting the semi load and maybe you network with a few investors several miles away or you just hustle em out of one of your garages or shop areas. You make a few bucks off a craigslist add and just explain appliances cheap will be there Saturday morning 9 to noon or ect. If I bought a truck load I would just sit on them and use them up on rehabs as I bought houses.
As it is I never touch appliances let others move this stuff saves your back.

[Rob K.]

As far as LG appliances go, I know two appliance repairmen and two appliance salesman that work at differnt stores. They all say the same thing - DON'T BUY ANY APPLIANCES MADE BY LG. They have said that the parts are very expensive. I have also heard that the front load washers made by LG are a nightmare. (I have also heard the same thing about Samsung appliances).

As far as TV's, the appliance salesmen have said that LG and Samsung make good TV's. I purchased a Samsung smart TV and it has been good so far.

On the last flip I did, I was torn with buying the over the range microwave. The LG was $10 cheaper than the other brand. I can't remember if it was GE or Whirlpool. I wasn't going to buy the LG, but the salesman reminded me that it's a flip, so I should save the $. If it was going in my own house, I would've never bought an LG.

[Christopher Boggs]

Brian Hoyt - Are you saying you usually pay $700 for a $1000 fridge or $300 for a $1000 fridge?

Do you usually put new washer and dryers in your flips?

[James H.]

Chris,

I'm saying 700 in lieu of 1000. I only have one rental. For that I bought a used Fridge and stove from individuals from CL. The fridge works fine but the stove has a burner out. Luckily the tenants don't care. Both fridge and the stove are basic model domestic stuff. I did not put in a washer and dryer. There was an old pair that I took out, but did not replace. I don't do flips for resale, just rental.

[Thomas Sanders]

http://www.skyappliancesource.com/ Distributes major home appliances in bulk. 

Take a look @ the video below for more information in wholesale truckloads of appliances, appliance wholesale dealer, truckload of wholesale appliances, Samsung wholesale appliance truckload, LG wholesale appliance truckload.

http://vimeo.com/103141640

[Will Barnard]

Originally posted by @Gil Lieblich:

I was searching for appliances for a foreclosure property i bought and i was speaking to another investor who said he goes to the lowes and depot and every week looking for good deals and keeps back up items as he owns many properties and constantly needs to replace things.
So I made some calls and contacted the store manager at a local lowes as they seem to have the largest supplies and asked them to find me scratch and dents/ repaired or discontinued appliances. They found me most at a substantial discount and in the end I got a fridge, stove, microwave, dishwasher, washer dryer for under $2000. (even stainless steel dishwasher and front load washer dryers)
Is there any reason i should not do this for future rentals?

 There is no good reason not to do this again. Saving money on these items adds more profit for your deal. This us an area where you can save money by finding deals like this.

Buying in bulk is yet another great option also mentioned in this thread.

[Bill S.]

@Gil Lieblich I buy used from CL for rentals. I get them at about 10%-30% of new cost. I don't care if the brands match but the finish must. It's a little hard to find Stainless but there are white ones all day long. Once one tenant lives there, they are no longer new so paying the extra for new or scratch and dent doesn't make sense.

Flips must match brands and finishes so scratch and dent would be the best savings possible.

[Paul Ewing]

I get matching Whirlpool appliances for about $550-$600 for a stove, refrigerator,  dishwasher,  microwave,  washer and dryer.  These are lightly used if used much at all.  They come from remodels of senior assisted living apartments.  The thing I have seen at most scratch and dent stores is that they are usually more expensive than buying on sale at normal stores.

[Joe Demonte]

I have seen full warehouses dedicated to selling appliances that have scratches or dents at a good discount (even Viking stoves). Everyone I know that have purchased these have been really happy with the purchase. 

[Argusta Walker]

Interested in purchasing

[Bill B.]

I may be in the minority but I avoid scratch and dent for a rational or maybe irrational fear. 

My fear is once a tenant sees a dent or scratch on the appliances they have zero interest in avoiding or fear of scratching/denting the appliances more. When a tenant sees new, or like new I feel they know any new dents/scratches would be obvious. The savings on one appliance is usually less than a weeks rent so getting a tenant sooner can pay for itself. (I also include all stainless appliances and fridges with ice makers and door dispensing ice/water.) I’m sure many people would argue against the expense of stainless and or hassles of in door water/ice fridges  

In maybe a related or possibly unrelated tangent, I haven't had a vacancy in more than 3 years and the average length is over 5 years spread over 12 SFR Vegas properties.

[Avery Carl]

We almost always buy "scratch and dents" for both our long term and short term rentals.  A lot of things get returned to Lowe's and Home Depot not because they are scratched or dented, but just because the previous buyer didn't measure properly and the appliances won't fit.

[Mahmoud Benjawad]

I have some LG front load washer and dryier machines and they have worked well for the past 4+ years.

[Travis Watts]

@Gil Lieblich Good question. I have also used this strategy (back when I did SF home investing). I also had a truck, so I had the ability to pick up LOTs of appliances from craigslist for pennies on the dollar. I even got some free appliances in good shape. Some owners upgrade their appliances and put out ads to "come pick them up if you can move them yourself". Love getting deals like that! Best of luck! 

[Kim Bartley]

I accepted a refrigerator delivery with a small ding on the side. Was told I'd get a call from Lowe's that day about a discount. I had to call them several days later and got only a 5% discount on a $700 purchase. This may be average, but I  was a little disappointed. Probably won't accept it next time.