Also, a painter is going to charge extra to paint virgin rock.

The challenge is getting a painter to work in a very narrow window of opportunity - when you need him.The market tends to be very slow from Christmas until Feburary - ajust your holding time accordingly - this is great time to pickup up REO bargains.Many winter/spring REO's have frozen pipes which seem to scare away some investors and regular buyers.

I suggest you wear good rubber gloves, and a head sock like painters wear + eye protection.

I also had Carl line up a painter to paint the entire outside of the home, and some of the interior.

All of my painter friends use Sherwin Williams.

Aside from power washing and sanding thoroughly, is there any more prep work I should have my painter do?

The rock wool is non-combustable, thus if someone inadvertently lights a fire you will not run the risk of a chimney fire.In addition to caulking the outside of your windows (which is it now too cold to continue), you can apply a bead of painters latex along the seams of your window boxes (and door frames) and trim to cut down on draughts.    

The turnkey provider there is Marcus Painter.  

Then you have your general tools like a vice grip, hammer, channel locks, flashlight, tape measure, composite shims, headlamp, box cutter with extra blades, painter's tool 5-1, wire stripper, allen wrenches, voltage detector, outlet tester, lineman's pliers, good Milwaukee demo screwdrivers, Milwaukee 11-1 with Phillips, flat heads, and 3-4 common size nuts(this is great for appliances).

I personally know a painter in MA that has been stuck with a $10,000 fine and another with an $18,000 fine for messing with lead paint.