Selecting a paint color for your rental property is an important task but it doesn’t have to be difficult. With years of experience, I have developed a few easy painting tips that make managing a rental property much easier. Neutral colors are a great option because they are appealing to the masses which makes for a greater pool of interested tenants. Whites, grays, and tans are all good paint color options that can go with anything.
I know what you might be thinking. Neutral colors can be boring. It is best to have a clean neutral color pallet and incorporate vibrant pops of colors in other ways. One way you can easily stage a room with color is to bring in accents like pillows, curtains, furniture, or rugs to add color and character. Your properties will appeal to many people and still show tenants that the space can be customized for their taste.
In our rental properties, we always use the color Smokey Taupe. We picked this color because it isn’t too bright or too dark. Unlike a white it is dark enough to cover some imperfections and dust but not too dark to make a room feel small. I also like taupe because it can look slightly more grey or brown depending on the furniture and accents.
Paint color isn’t your only important decision to make. The type of paint finish is also an important factor. We have always found Pittsburgh’s Ultra satin paint to be a quality paint for our properties. We selected satin because it works well in most rooms and is easy to clean.
Top Painting Tips to Consider for Your Rental Property
Over the years of investing in rental properties, we have picked up several painting tips and lessons learned that make managing properties easier. When it comes to renting out your property, especially between tenants, time is money. The quicker you can turn a property around between tenants and get it back on the market the sooner you can start collecting rent again.
TIP #1 –
Use the same color of paint for all of your rental properties
Once you have selected that perfect neutral paint color, use it in all of your rental properties. This is a strategy that we started using a few years ago for a couple reasons. The first reason is that I hate having to store and keep organized a bunch of different paint cans and colors. Secondly, we save some money by purchasing one, larger 5-gallon bucket of our neutral paint color. Property management, like many things in life, is better when you keep it simple.
TIP #2 –
Save your paint color at your local home improvement store and keep a couple copies of your paint sample card
You have browsed the paint department at your local home improvement store and have finally picked your rental property paint color. The next step is to grab extra copies of your paint sample card to keep in a safe place. This will come in handy when you need to get more paint for property touchups down the road.
A step better is to record your paint color at your home improvement store. Many home improvement stores will offer to keep your paint name and color on file under your name for free. This is a win, win because it makes it easy to pick up more paint without having to have your sample card and the store makes a sale because they have a convenient process.
TIP #3 –
Don’t allow your tenants to do their own painting
The final tip is to not allow your tenants to do their own painting. It is important to always make sure to paint between tenants or at a minimum touch-up where there are signs of wear. Your tenants shouldn’t have to worry about painting since that falls under the maintenance of the property owner.
There will still be times even when you provide a freshly painted home that tenants will still ask to paint. We always include in our rental contract that no major modifications of the property including painting should be made without prior homeowner approval.
We primarily do this because no one will take as good of care of your property as you do. Not everyone has the same taste in colors (that’s why we always go with neutral colors) and you could be stuck trying to cover undesirable colors after the tenant moves out. An even worse outcome is your tenant could make a mess and get paint on trim boards or the floor.
Our strategy has always been to avoid these potential headaches by being up front with tenants and putting it in the contract. Again no one will take as good of your property as you, so do it yourself or hire a professional painter that you can trust.
In Conclusion
These tips may seem like simple common-sense strategies. They can make a big difference though, when you are just starting out and learning as you go. There is nothing worse than carving time out of your busy schedule to do touch-up painting and cleaning between tenants and you show up with the wrong paint color. Been there, done that.
BONUS TIP #4 –
Stay Organized and Keep it Simple.
If I have one more final tip it is to stay organized and keep it simple. Don’t overcomplicate things and the more processes you can put into place the easier managing will be. I hope you find these easy rental property painting tips helpful on your next property.
Your Friends,
