Recently I had a painter paint an apartment for me and did a horrendous job.

I talked to a painter who said he would have done it himself 10 years younger and dumber.  

Some painters are just MUCH better than others (as in MUCH).Before hiring any contractor, go see 3 other jobs he has done and see how they look. 

They do enough volume that they have salaried electricians, plumbers, framers, painters on their team, so their costs are dramatically lower than what my wife and I can do.

This is sticky territory so make sure you're careful with verbage.Any painter or contractor who might interact with paint pre-1981 (I think that's the date) is supposed to know the basics of these guidelines and actually be certified every 5 years.

Agent - Katie Painter Keller Williams located in Wickenburg AZ

Man I'm surprised everyone is so trusting on here so far. 2 hours away and he's a painter?

It's also helped a ton to again run my rentals like a business, and expect expenses, like hiring cleaners, painters, and so forth.

We have a friend who is a professional painter & he ONLY uses Sherwin Williams.

Painters, electricians, plumbers were great.