Plus don't be surprised if once you can make an offer that another bidder suddenly materializes and makes a higher offer even though the property has been sitting for months and months 

Has anyone ever done a full rehab using The Home Depot or Lowe's sub contractors and materials?

I have seen the numbers and I understand why it works, I just don't have the nuts and bolts of it.In a COBOL programming class many years ago, the class material provided the loan amortization formula and it was up to us to write the code to produce an amortization schedule.

I suspect at anyone time there are over 20 GC's working on projects that I personally funded  and then all the subs etc etc. . then all the folks that make the materials that go into these homes.. the real estate community that counts on my inventory to create commissions the loans my bankers make me and are happy when I pay them back my private bankers that I work with day in and day out wiring money to god knows were .. ... and the list goes on and on...

If a contractor says he needs money upfront for materials, offer to pay for the materials directly.  

That leaves flipping (and/or working part or full time as a RE agent) to build up experience and capital, or buying cosmetic fixers at retail and making up for it with sweat equity (zero labor costs) and patience, or trying to work a development project via FHA 203k (or its 20% equivalent rehab loan) if you can get such a deal under contract with a skilled mortgage broker to close it, or waiting until your eminent real estate downturn materializes and risking being wrong.

Your location will play a big role on both the payback (electricity rates, incentives, ability to sell surplus generation and for how much) and whether tenants will pay a rent premium to live in a sustainable home.Our local utility is late to the table when it comes to renewable resources (having recently spent a billion $$ rehabbing a nuclear power station that was end-of-life, it's clear their focus is elsewhere) and provides very little incentive, and no material assistance, for citizens or business owners to generate their own electricity.  

This suggests that people who are in the business of knowing everything about real estate law believe there is material risk that someone will challenge even a "ripened" tax deed.  

. $49K for a sight unseen program that refuses to show you the very specific materials and training until you pay?

In the future you may need to either manage yourself if you end up doing so much, or retain a new mgt company.