Home Depot Financing/Savings for Flip

[James Back]

I just started a flip in West Chester OH and am looking at my best option for purchasing materials from home depot.  I plan on getting Lifeproof flooring, doors, vanities, and carpet from home depot.  I currently have a home depot credit card, which is great because they offer 0% financing for 6 months on purchases above $299.  Is there a different or better option that people have used at Home Depot that may allow for cheaper/contractor pricing that i may be eligible for?  I know i can speak with home depot directly about my options, but I'm just looking for others experiences.  Thanks

[Bonnie Low]

We used a Home Depot project loan for our very first flip. Basically, it was a $10k loan with zero interest for 6 months. We waited until later in the remodel when we just had the big ticket items left to buy (flooring, cabinets, counter tops, appliances) and used the loan for these purchases. This allowed us to pay it off after the house sold and before interest kicked in. But this was in 2018 when appraisals and closings were much quicker. So, for that project, it worked well. However, what I didn't think about at the time is that unlike a credit card or revolving line of credit, this loan would be closed when paid off and we'd have to open a new one. Each time you do that results in a hard pull on your credit and therefore a negative mark that stays on your credit score for 2 years! I don't regret getting creative with financing (even if it meant taking out loans) because that's what it took for us to get started. That said, I wouldn't do a project loan again. As for better pricing from big box stores, we've found Lowe's to be much more accommodating than HD. In fact, I was ordering a garage door there and the guy helping me asked if we had other purchases to make. When I showed him my list he called in the department manager who ran my whole shopping list through their pro quote system and I ended up saving about 18%, which was worth it to me. I got everything ordered at once, the discount applied to the entire order and I didn't even have to ask for it. HD employees just shrug and say 'we have pro Xtra. You get discounts on paint and stuff like that once in a while.' Meh.