What kind of interior paint for rental properties?

[Jonathan Jaffe]

Does anyone have suggestions on the type of paint they recommend for use in rental properties?  Low maintenance and durability are my goals.  Just starting out with my first rehab!  Thanks BP family!

[Mike Wood]

@Jonathan Jaffe I recommend all walls use the same color in the house/unit, something that you can get additional paint to do touch up.  I use eggshell sheen on all my walls (again, all walls same color, same sheen, regardless of room).  I use gloss white on all trim, and flat white ceiling paint on the ceilings.  If you stick with one (1) color/sheen for walls, one (1) color/sheen for trim and one (1) for ceilings, you will only need to remember a few paint color/codes that you purchased to do touch ups.

I personally use Behr paint from HD.  Sure there may be better paints out there, but I like its durability and the fact that I can purchase paint 7 days a week and late in the evening if I need to, something important for a landlord with a day job.  Plus, I can always go to the HD and give them the paint code and have never had an issue with paint patches not blending in, even on paint many years old.

I have currently have 10 units, and only use 4 different paints (2 wall colors [1 beige and 1 gray depending on the house], 1 trim and 1 ceiling).  

Keep it simple, and dont let your tenants paint, as you will never get the paint to match and will be forced to repaint.