We got a quote to paint the whole house while we were thinking about flipping it -- interior paint, trim, scraping, retexturing, and painting the popcorn ceilings, and exterior painting, for about $3,500. 

For instance, in Michigan, the seller is required to attach a lead paint disclosure form as well as a form for disclosing any known issues with the property.

i have a 10% off for lows and home depot already for my military discount and i get an additional 5% off at home depot for having a contractor account with them.i also already have connections with just about everyone in the business as far as contractors go, i even have some really awesome contractors have that agree to hourly rates along with others that are by the job.I am mainly asking to see what tricks people use besides the normal ones to ensure I'm not missing out on anything and to make sure i am not stuck in a one lane mind set. its always good to ask others what they do and ensure times are not changing around me.i honestly order a lot of my items online and have them shipped to the house and store them in the garage to have my contractors install them when they get there. i do spend a lot of time at the house waiting for delivery but i use that time to ensure all the work is being done to standard.one thing i have been thinking about lately is hiring some guys from a "ready work" company to do all of my clean ups. but i have yet to do this one and am not sure i fully trust random guys who will accept 10$ a hour to do what ever jobs they can pick up that day...i also have access to realtor direct flooring companies, and a discount painting company due to my va hook up. ill tell you what i have the hardest time finding deals on is cabinets and countertops

When you have a tenant turnover you not only have no income (rent) coming in but you generally have to spend money to clean up, paint, etc. 

You might be well into orders for cabinets, flooring, & appliances by the time someone asks about options (wink, wink), but now they're interested and maybe you could squeeze in a different backsplash or paint colors.  

The house needs everything: Roof, gutters, siding (asbestos shingles nailed over older cedar shingles), drainage abatement, rehabbed bath, total kitchen, replaced flooring (half), refinished flooring (other half), back steps, total landscape, HVAC (old furnace is missing), insulation (2" in attic; none elsewhere) additional electrical circuits, plumbing includes iron pipes, interior trim and paint.

I would also recommend painting the walls.

Each unit also has partially finished basement (dry wall is up, needs paint, etc.), offering a huge amount of storage space. 

In all seriousness, I really respect your choice to "follow your dream" at such an early age instead of taking the path of least resistance and going to work for "The Man" right after college.Thus far, your recipe for success has been to work harder, not "smarter", control costs by doing all of your own labor and buying all of your own materials, living frugally, renting them out as you complete them and then, rinse and repeat.Screw working "smarter."

Wow, I'm looking for my first flip and this doesn't paint a rosy picture.