I'll pick a silly example, Curb Appeal (recall I'm B&H investor).Say I just love gardening and the yard is plain old grass. 

Our local nearest real town is 32 miles and then 55 to a town with 2 lumber yards, over 130 miles to a town with a big box store like Menards or Home Depot. 

A comprehensive spreadsheet of the specific materials you would use in your rehab is the way to go.Home Depot has a canadian version.http://www.homedepot.ca/for specialty items amazon has alot.http://www.amazon.caYou can also speak with private suppliers in your area.

....You tell the kids that you are going on a fun family outing and they groal "not Home Depot again!!"

Also can the receipts from the vendors such as Home Depot or Lowes and the checks written to contractors also be used as a write off against the profit or would that be considered double dipping since the renovations were done with the original loan?

I'm about to possibly buy one house with cash and put the other on a 20k limit credit card then probably max out my home depot credit card to get them both fixed

Now Wayne that makes sense they keep their prices high they use a credit below the line to entice people and then they try to make it up on the reserve on the by rate of the mortgage versus the sell rate By the way I'm moving from Palm Beach Gardens to South Carolina

I believe H-Depot carries those.

Do specialty stores usually have the lowest prices or are you able to get more for your money at big retailers such as Home Depot and Lowes?

They have Home Depots in Puerto Rico now so that would be a bonus.....