Blue Kitchen in Rental?

Question

I just made an offer on a property I will rehab and rent out. The property has a blue kitchen, the cabinets walls, and ceiling are all painted blue. My first thought was that I would have to paint it a neutral color (probably white), and I made my offer with the cost of painting factored in. However, I have been thinking about it and wondered if it would really need to be painted (the blue paint is in good shape) or if I could rent it out as it is.

Has anyone rented out a unit with a bold paint choice? Does it take longer to rent or do you rent it at a discount?

Joel Owens · Answer

Kyle it's an easy decision.

It's like a custom house where you have to find that ONE buyer to love it versus a neutral house that appeals to the masses.

If it's a deep blue it's worth it to buy some primer first so you don't have to put on 4 coats of paint to cover it.

To paint the kitchen you might have 50 to 60 bucks in materials if you do yourself.

You will get that back alone with the first months rent payment.

My experience is tenants will take an off color but then they want a discount for it.

My apartments are 1,200 sq ft units.I get 5 gallons of Home Depot paint for 53.00. I can repaint the whole place with about 7 gallons.I pay a guy 75.00 a pop and it takes him about 1 to 2 days to finish.

So I have about 150 to 175 with labor and materials per unit into painting.

I don't see a benefit to not repainting it with such and existing color.

Jon Klaus · Answer

I'd paint it.  You might find a good qualified prospect that just can't get past the color.

Carlos Flores · Answer

I've seen blue houses and blue kitchens in Dallas. Yuk. Paint it!

Account Closed · Answer

Hi Kyle, I invest in Indy as well.  My grandma always said "you can do wonders with new paint".   You will attract more and better tenants with nice kitchens.  I would paint the walls a bright neutral and cabinets white and change out the hardware to a silver (handles and hinges)

Joel Owens · Answer

I wanted to add the cost I said for your kitchen is based on having to do primer and and 2 coats to cover the blue.

With my units I am going over white that is worn down so I don't need as much paint to cover a larger area.

Some nicer quality paints are mentioned in some other posts which I can see using in a flip or a really upscale high end rental area where the tenant demographic is different.

For rentals I use paint that is cost effective and will pop and carpet that is made for wear and tear for the type of tenants I have.All they usually care about is it's "fresh and clean".

Kyle Meyers · Answer

The paint is not a factor in the purchase. I factored in the cost to paint the entire place when I made my offer, my question was more about whether or not I would have to paint it. It seems most people believe painting it will bring a higher quality tenant and/or help get it rented faster, which was my first thought as well.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts.

Dick M. · Answer

I can't believe a room color is a deciding factor in a purchase... I expect to paint everything anyways.

James H. · Answer

One thing nice about white, un-tinted paint, is that if you buy from Sherwin Williams (not too sure about the big boxes) you can return what you don't use. You cannot return a tinted color. Plus you won't forget what you used!

Chuck H. · Answer

Kyle,

I have a rental with a blue bedroom - walls and ceilings. I decided to leave it and have had 2 tenants in there since then. Both asked if they could paint the room - I told them sure as long as its white or neutral colored. Of course, neither tenant painted it and its still a blue bedroom.

For a kitchen, I would probably paint everything white. I suppose if you wanted to leave the ceiling blue, you might be able to get away with this - but you already got the paint out. "As long as you got the refrigerator out, you might as well sweep underneath it."

Ryan B. · Answer

Paint is cheap and it will become your best friend as a landlord.  It is unbelievable how much better a place looks with a new coat of paint.  Get a gallon of kitchen paint for the cabinets, it will help keep grease and finger smudges off of them.

Blue Kitchen in Rental?

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