Professional Painter or DIY?

[Troy Parker]

Hello BiggerPockets community!

I recently received a quote to paint the entire interior of my recently purchased home. The home is 1500 sq ft, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and was built in 1979 with a wood frame. The quote was $5352.00 ($3,650 for labor and $1,702 for materials). The painter does exceptional work, but the price is a little higher than I expected.

My appraisal was only for the interior, but the painter said that we could discuss painting the exterior based on my budget. The painter mentioned that reattaching/replacing some panels and applying a new coat of paint on the exterior would prolong the life of the home.

I bought the home for 5% down and I am renovating the property with the intention of getting it reappraised to eliminate PMI. I am in the process of remodeling the kitchen and both bathrooms. I will live there for a year (It was an REO and I signed an addendum that I have to live there at least a year) while I complete the remodel and then rent the property out to establish cashflow.

I have a few questions I would like feedback on from the community.

• 1) How much does a well-done paint job add to the appraisal of a home vs doing it yourself with little to no experience?
• 2) How important is it to have a variety of colors throughout the home? Would it be insane to paint everything a neutral white?
• 3) Should I seek out other painters?

Separate considerations:

• a) My friend works for this painter and I have been trying to pay her on the side to do the work under the table.
• b) I am trying to get the kitchen painted by June 2nd because I am having the cabinets installed and the kitchen is already demoed.
• c) I currently have a contractor working on the bathroom and she agreed to paint the kitchen but she has been very slow.

Thank you for all the advice!

[Bob Stevens]

Quote from @Troy Parker:

Hello BiggerPockets community!

I recently received a quote to paint the entire interior of my recently purchased home. The home is 1500 sq ft, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and was built in 1979 with a wood frame. The quote was $5352.00 ($3,650 for labor and $1,702 for materials). The painter does exceptional work, but the price is a little higher than I expected.

My appraisal was only for the interior, but the painter said that we could discuss painting the exterior based on my budget. The painter mentioned that reattaching/replacing some panels and applying a new coat of paint on the exterior would prolong the life of the home.

I bought the home for 5% down and I am renovating the property with the intention of getting it reappraised to eliminate PMI. I am in the process of remodeling the kitchen and both bathrooms. I will live there for a year (It was an REO and I signed an addendum that I have to live there at least a year) while I complete the remodel and then rent the property out to establish cashflow.

I have a few questions I would like feedback on from the community.

• 1) How much does a well-done paint job add to the appraisal of a home vs doing it yourself with little to no experience?
• 2) How important is it to have a variety of colors throughout the home? Would it be insane to paint everything a neutral white?
• 3) Should I seek out other painters?

Separate considerations:

• a) My friend works for this painter and I have been trying to pay her on the side to do the work under the table.
• b) I am trying to get the kitchen painted by June 2nd because I am having the cabinets installed and the kitchen is already demoed.
• c) I currently have a contractor working on the bathroom and she agreed to paint the kitchen but she has been very slow.

Thank you for all the advice!

 Price is about right; the appraiser does not care about the paint.

You need to hire a GC and stay out of their way. Is this an investment prop for a rental? If so, I would love to see the numbers, 

[Denis Ponder]

Another vote for delegation and paying someone to do it.  It saves you time and helps build relationships for your business as well.  This is all assuming you can afford it.  If not, get ready for some long nights or busy weekends to get it ready before the install.

I used to do my own painting.  I reached a point where I didn't need to anymore, and never looked back.  I hire out pretty much everything that needs to be done, either through a handyman or a professional contractor.  I like leaving for work, taking care of that all day, then getting home to projects being completed.  I only have so much time/energy to be effective at what I am currently committed to.

[Troy Parker]

Quote from @Bob Stevens:

Quote from @Troy Parker:

Hello BiggerPockets community!

I recently received a quote to paint the entire interior of my recently purchased home. The home is 1500 sq ft, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and was built in 1979 with a wood frame. The quote was $5352.00 ($3,650 for labor and $1,702 for materials). The painter does exceptional work, but the price is a little higher than I expected.

My appraisal was only for the interior, but the painter said that we could discuss painting the exterior based on my budget. The painter mentioned that reattaching/replacing some panels and applying a new coat of paint on the exterior would prolong the life of the home.

I bought the home for 5% down and I am renovating the property with the intention of getting it reappraised to eliminate PMI. I am in the process of remodeling the kitchen and both bathrooms. I will live there for a year (It was an REO and I signed an addendum that I have to live there at least a year) while I complete the remodel and then rent the property out to establish cashflow.

I have a few questions I would like feedback on from the community.

• 1) How much does a well-done paint job add to the appraisal of a home vs doing it yourself with little to no experience?
• 2) How important is it to have a variety of colors throughout the home? Would it be insane to paint everything a neutral white?
• 3) Should I seek out other painters?

Separate considerations:

• a) My friend works for this painter and I have been trying to pay her on the side to do the work under the table.
• b) I am trying to get the kitchen painted by June 2nd because I am having the cabinets installed and the kitchen is already demoed.
• c) I currently have a contractor working on the bathroom and she agreed to paint the kitchen but she has been very slow.

Thank you for all the advice!

 Price is about right; the appraiser does not care about the paint.

You need to hire a GC and stay out of their way. Is this an investment prop for a rental? If so, I would love to see the numbers, 

I do plan on posting the numbers under my profile in the investments tabs, but I am still figuring out my total expenses. Once I get the reno complete I will list everything. I am new to BiggerPockets, but my previous posts related to my struggles in purchasing my first home, dealing with an REO property, and being my own realtor if you wanted more info about my story.

[Peter W.]

The only part that is “difficult” is cutting in, but also you cannot skip steps. You have three options take your time taping, cleaning as soon as you mess up or doing a poor job. We did my own house when I moved in. We didn’t wash the walls and the paint started peeling about two years later. Since you are new at it I would expect it to take 24-30 hours if you are trying to do a good job.

[Alecia Loveless]

@Troy Parker I recommend that you should buy the materials 95% of the time for most projects because the contractor/painter will usually mark up supplies by 30% or more.

While I’m quite good at painting I find it to be more cost effective to hire someone as a professional seems to work faster and use less paint than I do. It usually takes me two coats and often if the colors are similar my painter only needs one coat.

I do not pay per job but by the hour and that seems to guarantee I get the best bang for my buck. My painter works for a painting company but does side work on his own and often when the company has a break between jobs.

[Colleen F.]

@Troy Parker First, I would get more than one estimate. Go to a high quality paint store and ask if they have someone that does business with them they could recommend. don't look for the cheapest, look if there is a huge differential, if your guy is much higher than 2 others than the quality might be higher than you need. For paint let them buy the paint from one of the good suppliers since painting pros get discounts and you want good paint and all the same color.  If your friend can paint the kitchen and bathroom in a timely way have them do it. There is no reason you have to have it all done by this vendor or all done at once. It is okay to split the difference and have them paint some. That said it may be cheaper to have them come in an out.  Exterior painting definitely use someone, they have better setups like scaffolding and ladders. 

[Sara Plaisted]

I painted the interior of my rental myself on weekends.  It took a bit longer than expected because I was meticulous about caulking and getting the details clean - and I had the time.  However, I paid a contractor to paint the exterior because they also replaced siding, added flashing (waterproofing), sealed it up, and was able to bang it out in a faster timeline.  I would pay them again in a heartbeat because of the added value of weather protection on the home.

I would look into a couple more quotes to give you a broad range, which might make you feel more comfortable in whatever direction you go.  And ask how many gallons they'll need and you provide it.  That would save you a 20% markup on the paint.  Just make sure they have more than enough and it's on site before they want to start.

Oh, I also painted my interior the same warm white from base to crown / ceiling (White Dove by Benjamin Moore, or Swiss Coffee by Sherwin Williams/Benjamin Moore)