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!

[Austin F.]

If you have more money than time, pay someone. If you have more time than money, do it yourself.

Painting isn't that hard, but its much harder than it looks to do a nice job. Tape, patience, and two coats will serve you well if you decide to do it yourself.

I use a neutral white in all my properties Sherwin Williams "Weathered Bone". It isn't exciting but it is very neutral, and cuts in easy for repaints. Sometimes if I have paint left over from a different project I'll do an accent wall but I wouldn't spend much time fussing over paint color, its a rental not a Better Homes and Gardens front pager.