Painting Rental Properties, The Key is Consistency
When it comes to painting rental property consistency will save you a ton of time and energy.
So what does that mean, consistency?
Does it mean consistently painting your properties? No, not even close, although that can make new tenants happier!
By consistency I’m talking about painting all your properties a single color. From the very first rental property you own to the hundredth, if you stick with one paint color for the walls and white for trim you’ll save yourself a world of headaches and time.
8672W Is Our Secret Painting Code
There, I shared my secret painting code, did it help?
I tell you that code has saved me hundreds of hours and the more properties you have the better it is for you to have a code like this. I guess the big question you might have is, what the heck does it mean?
Well, 8672W was the paint code for the colour of paint we use in all of our rental properties. Now, I’m not suggesting you use the same code (which has actually become a challenge as the paint company producing it has been swallowed up by a larger paint company), but my wife who is an interior designer by trade, picked this for us and we used it in not just all of our rental properties, but we used it in every single rehab property we flipped.
The great thing about that paint was it’s neutral colour that changed how it looks from room to room depending on the lighting. It’s also a modern colour so it’s appealing to many people.
Now a bonus reason for picking one color when painting rental properties is the time it can save you.
If you have to start painting a wall, you don’t have to try and figure out what colour it is, you just know!
This can save even more time as you scale up and grow your portfolio into multiple properties, you don’t have to remember which property was painted what color, they’re all the same. Better yet, if you do need to touch up a wall or room, since you now buy a single color in bulk (as it’s cheaper to get five gallon buckets than single pails) you usually have a bucket sitting just waiting for the next paint job.
Another bonus with a single paint color you can just give your handyman or painter the color code so they can go pick up the paint directly and it even makes repainting a place easier because it’s the same color!
If you haven’t already looked at using a consistent paint color throughout your properties, you really need to consider it.
Just be sure you don’t choose renter white! It’s too old school, it’s too sterile and it’s a pain to keep clean.
Good Enough To Drink – Fun Facts
Funny fact about that paint code 8672W, it’s “brand name” was “Tequila”, so all my rental walls are painted in Tequila! This particular code was from General Paint and since they’ve been bought out we’ve had to make some minor changes.
Since we have multiple samples of the original color (paint swatches, stir sticks, even pieces of drywall we’ve removed), we’ve been able to get the paint color replicated at Lowe’s.
The important part being it’s mostly consistent. We due occasionally find it’s a slight hue off, but trust me, it still saves a ton of time when you have to repaint a rental property.
And my final caveat, this code might be an entirely different colour somewhere else, so don’t blindly ask for it or you could end up with purple walls!