The neighbor is asking us to split tree trimming costs with him, which doesn't seem to make sense. 

If you go the grey route, I would paint the main body of the house a warm grey, paint the “pop out” and shutters a few shades darker, have a crisp white color trim and an accent color for the door.  

At one house there was a trim board below the back door threshold that allowed termites to get to the door frame without leaving a telltale mud tunnel on the foundation.

You can have home depot paint match to this color, and it costs very little to slap some pain on the walls, ceiling and trim.

But my tenants are pipefitters (they can change a hot water tank), boilermakers (can change a hot water tank with their eyes closed), electricians (can replace a fuse box with a breaker box), electrical crews (can wire a 2 story house for cable tv), scaffold builders (can trim a tree with a pole saw), welders (can replace the factory exhaust with a custom stainless steel exhaust on a riding mower), construction foreman (can add a bathroom counter and vanity).

I have bought surrounds from menards or home depot that come with trim for this very issue.

I bought 3/4 inch solid oak hardwood on closeout for $2 psf at the local flooring store (vs $4-5 psf at Home Depot) and I’ve got an install quote at $2-2.50 psf including quarter round trim.

Moving on to hardwoods, tile, trim, and interior doors.

Hey BP friends,I'm rehabbing a 1920s house in San Antonio, Texas, that has shiplap planking covered by vinyl siding on the exterior and shiplap covered by drywall on the interior walls and ceiling.My family and I are demoing the house and have already removed the interior drywall and trim, but... what about the planking?

My stepdaughter spent a solid 3-4 hours very meticulously painting the trim on the front of the house.