The other idea was to build the staircase myself with material from the lumber yard. 

Get my vinyl plank from lumber liquidators and it is awesome as well!

Lumber prices are pre Covid.

Using local lumber yards and hardware stores was something I felt good about but it cost us a lot more money... happy it worked out on this one but unfortunately it may not always be possible to use neighborhood type vendors.

Most of your framing lumber is #2 grade (cheaper) and isn't always the straightest. 

Lumber and concrete prices are through the roof and it doesn't look like they're coming down any time soon. 

I finished reading the BiggerPockets guide to rental property management and the author said he likes to give his tenants a housewarming gift upon move in.He said a shower curtain, soap, towel, roll of toilet paper, etc...Hi reasoning is that many people don’t have those items on hand when they are finished unloading their moving truck and the first thing they really want to do is take a shower.

Thank you all for the advice, we closed on a cabin on lumber jack way in Sevierville and are excited to get started! 

Are they worth anything to a lumber yard?

Since most of the united state's lumber comes from Canada, framing could be cheaper in Michigan than Florida due to shipping.