the key is to use your time under contract to source materials and contractors.

As an example I did flooring and paint but it included removing a carpet like material from the kitchen and bathroom floor and replacing that with linoleum.

Who is paying for materials? 

We put every material cost on that card and after our big project was done we celebrated with 4 round trip tickets to Orlando and 4 round trip tickets to Las Vegas all on points!

Hi Porsha,You should get a few contractor bids in person to really know the price, or else it's a big gamble.You should also know how to specify what you want done, because paint a kitchen can be done with any number of different materials and many different types of prep work. 

Shout out to Cox hardware in Texas where we got over 1200 board feet of wood siding to match the original materials we salvaged.

I fixed the mudding as best I could for about $300 in materials.  

I fixed the mudding as best I could for about $300 in materials.  

This only cost about $1,500 - $2,000 in materials and I had no prior construction experience.

I think I've found a good PML who's willing to do 100% financing (purchase + rehab), but I will definitely consider using CC's for upfront expenses like ordering supplies and materials and even paying the contractor ahead of scheduled work inspections/draws. :)