One way to find these contractors, is just to go to the local big box stores at 6 AM and find out who is there.

For a re-sale, they can get moved into a rental or stored for the next rental.You can certainly offer them to a used appliance store.

Not like a store where you just pull another product of the shelf.

Despite what most believe, Wal-Mart doesn't purchase a single item you see in their stores.

You can go meet others and get involved but that's not an education, it's an experience, it could be good or bad information.Start with a formal approach to RE, get a text book for the state real estate exam, text book on RE 101/102 from some college book store.

(We have 15 units.)I also maintain vendor files.I keep reference materials in separate files/notebooks/drawers for Washington Landlord-Tenant Law, Housing Authority (Section 8), Police/Sheriff Partnering, Fire Marshall-Fire Safety, Tenant Screening Resources, Utility Companies, Rental Association, Legal Counsel, Partnership Minutes, Education Courses we took, etc.I keep a notebook record of standard materials we use, written descriptions including paint samples, flooring samples, etc. with some photo examples.We store and organize most of the property photos in the computer in iphoto.We produce our marketing materials in the computer, such as business cards and advertisements.We keep hard copies of the bank statements, credit card statements, mortgage statements and purchase agreements in binders and archive them at the end of the year.Our bookkeeping is on the computer in Quicken, which allows us to easily look things up, categorize and send electronically to our tax preparer at tax time.Our tax preparer files electronically, keeps an archive record and each year delivers to us hard copies of our tax documents in a labeled folder, which we store in a filing cabinet.We also have a small library of reference books, magazines, newsletters, etc.That's most of it.

Lowe's and Home Depot have a very limited selection in-store and I can't wait to have them delivered if I order them online.

You can also walk the neighbor hood.My local dollar store has 3x5 orange post it notes.

I would put up flyers in the laundromats around town, community centers, any store that accepts flyers.

Also, working at a hardware store or lumberyard will also teach you a lot about building materials, their names and uses, benefits and disadvantages, etc.