You will want to attend those as they will provide additional materials you will need. 

I buy most of my materials from Home Depot- because they are everywhere and the prices aren't bad.

Your lawyer should be able to go after the home inspector and previous owners if they hid a substantial material defect.  

If you're not working with a local agent to help you screen tenants...I would say the best way to get as many eyes on the property is create marketing material - add to local FB groups and host 2 consecutive open house weekends showing a model unit and amenities.If you're close to any University Campuses - I would also suggest to partner with the university for housing opportunities for upperclass students.Good luck with filling those up!

With that said, does anyone have any additional tips on how to cut costs on materials when flipping? 

Always nice when you can save on materials.  

It is really helpful to receive books and system referrals because you can waste a lot of time reading mediocre material.

Any deviation from in-kind materials will need to be approved by the historic commission.

We will land at roughly 26k in materials for this project… a 14’x26’ garage.

Also, in terms of flooring for the storefront what material would be best in terms of money and quality?