I am close to purchasing my first SFH rental. The interiors are painted beige. The paint is fine - it just needs a little touch up here and there. My property manager took a tour of the house today and gave me a (low priority) recommendation of repainting the house "agreeable gray".
I am curious how much and what kind of difference going from B+ color to A+ color makes to the rent, rentability and cashflow in your experience.
Fund Manager · Wayne, PA · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
6y
Speaking as a landlord and a former painter myself, going from B+ to A+ is probably one of the easiest (and cheapest) things you can do that could make a world of difference for potential tenants. It's why nearly every apartment complex does this when they have any turnover.
Remember it's not just appealing to the eyes but it can also give that "new apartment" smell and presents an overall cleaner interior.
Considering cost of a handyman painting a bedroom or similar is literally $150 or so materials included... the realized benefit is worth it in many cases. Looks like many Here disagree with me but that’s my take. Even just the fresh paint smell will pay back with fewer showings needed to rent etc.
When you buy the property, you should factor in interior paint depending on where you got the property.
i.e.
Buy an offmarket house from a distressed seller...you calculate your MAO then subtract [insert number for what it'll cost to paint house + trim...in GA, you can get it done for $1.5-$2/sq ft).
Now you're not losing any potential profit.
*** We use edgecomb gray with an eggshell finish. Not as "gray", a little lighter.
I also use edgecomb gray. I mean, my wife makes me use edgecomb gray.
Los Angeles · Member since 2018 · 464 posts · 471 votes
6y
I agree with the folks who said the grey color is today's "in" color. Tomorrow, maybe we go back to Navajo White. Who knows.
About the only thing bad about it is that it allows you to immediately recognize a flip. Nobody except an investor paints anything gray, "agreeable" or not.
Anybody remember when all the kitchen appliances came in avocado? Then they started coming in white? Then black? I think now it's stainless steel. I haven't bought an appliance in a while so I can't say for sure. In a few years it'll be something else, and about the only thing interesting about it is that it allows you to play "archaeologist" and "scientifically" put a date on a photo based on the color of the appliances.
So I agree with everybody who said, don't bother spending the money unless it's really needed. If a few touch-ups is all it needs, then give it a few touch-ups. If it looks like a disaster that a fresh paint job will fix, then you can worry about what color to buy.
New to Real Estate · Garden Grove, CA · Member since 2020 · 64 posts · 56 votes
6y
Speaking from a renter's point of view, whenever I go look at an apartment and get that fresh paint look, I'm automatically impressed. Of course, I consider other factors before renting, but something about that fresh paint gives me that going inside of a new car factor.
Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
6y
Painting is one of the most effective ways in improving one's property. It is relatively cheap and it makes the unit show well. "Agreeable gray" This color annoys me. It's been popular for awhile. And I can't wait until the trend changes.
Rental Property Investor · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
6y
As long as the paint really just needs a bit of touchup I wouldn't repaint the whole thing, especially if you are paying someone to do it. I'm on the Accessible Beige boat as well and people seem to like it. I just buy it by the 5 gallon bucket and am on my fourth one and will keep buying as long as it is in style. When styles change I'll just switch to something else, not really that big of a deal. I like them all to be the same color so I don't have to store a bunch of shades of paint, if that makes me a one trick pony it is what it is I guess. Pro tip from a buddy I used to buy eggshell which didn't tough up well since the gloss didn't match, switched to flat and you can never tell the difference and saves a lot of time instead of painting the whole wall.
Real Estate Investor · Williamson County, TX · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 961 votes
6y
@Praveen Balaji Agreeable Gray is too dark. Imo. Model homes here are trending lighter wall colors. If you decide to paint, paint the whole house one color and pick a color you can use on the next house. Neutral, light and timeless. It can be a grayed beige but light and not too gray or it looks bleak.
@Praveen Balaji Colours are a personal choice. If the beige is a nice neutral colour and you have the paint to do the touch ups, leave it. Before you do touch ups, go through and wash the walls, use a Mr Clean eraser if there are scuff marks and see what the looks like before you paint. When it is time to re-paint, change the colours if you want.
It also depends if you are painting it or you are having someone else do it. The latter can get pricey quickly.
Most tenants want something that is in good condition and clean. For colours, neutrals are always best.
New to Real Estate · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2020 · 32 posts · 13 votes
6y
As long as the wall or surface is not dirty or moldy I never cared about painting, I did not even notice it. But, i have a tenant request to paint a small portion of the wall just because it did not match the rest of the house paint. So we are talking about a wall leading to the restroom. I did not even notice it. To some people especially the ladies, painting makes a big difference. So in my case i insisted i was not going to paint it but my wife saw the same thing the tenant saw and long story short we ended up painting it. LOL
Investor · TX · Member since 2020 · 56 posts · 54 votes
6y
Paint is cheap and not only brightens a place, but makes it smell clean and newer, too. I wouldn't plan on it getting you any more money per month, but if you want to attract a good quality renter, "cleaner" and "brighter" makes all the difference in choosing your unit over the other one down the street!
Rental Property Investor · Westminster, MD · Member since 2014 · 165 posts · 221 votes
6y
@Praveen Balaji
We paint all are units Chic Grey walls, flat white ceilings and bright white semi gloss trim/doors. It gives a nice bright, fresh and appealing look. This is the same color palate almost all flips in the area are using and that’s what we are going for. I believe paint makes a huge difference and attracts a certain type of renter. I want someone who wants to live in my units because they are nice and they can afford them, not just because it’s what they can afford. Just me 2 cents.
Investor · Bethlehem, PA · Member since 2016 · 929 posts · 951 votes
6y
@Praveen Balaji The quality of the paint job is more important than considering "agreeable gray" vs. beige. If the painting looks good, I would leave it, and consider switching to your PM's recommendation when you need to repaint next. The recommendation is likely a good one, but as your PM noted, it's "low priority." Close on the deal, get your first tenants and then start worrying about smaller items like paint color! Good luck!
If you are renting it out and it's a low priority you can probably get away with holding off on doing it until you want to spend the money to do it. You could just buy yourself some paint and get it done yourself.
I like the idea of having multiple units with the same paint color. It makes it easier to track and you can move paint from one unit to the other. I personally do like the grays, but I also like the yellows (neutral yellows).
Is there any benefit to adding a little bit of trim around the windows/doors? Accent walls? (assuming of course it just costs time and a couple hundred dollars)
Rental Property Investor · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2016 · 653 posts · 769 votes
6y
I have a couple of colors that I try to stick with. Agreeable gray is one of them and swiss coffee is the other. Some of my properties have darker wood trim or natural floors that clash quite a bit with agreeable gray so that's where the off white comes in. Then I get a good semigloss pure white that can be used for trim/doors on multiple properties since I buy nice paint and always have some leftover after turning a unit around.
If some walls are better shape than others and just doing touch-ups isn't going to work well, you can always cut in just one whole wall and the difference will be almost indistinguishable vs having a bunch of one-foot patches of new paint.
And if you don't know the paint color you can cut a small piece of drywall out and get it matched. Patching a little hole and doing a match is often much faster than repainting a wall or room.
Property Manager · Henderson, NV · Member since 2018 · 501 posts · 317 votes
6y
I would look at your competition for the answer. Ask your property manager for a list of comparable rentals. Sift through the comparable property pictures and see if somewhat-updated properties are renting for more money. If they are renting at higher rates then I would paint. Painting may also help rent the home out faster.
Investor · Shelton, WA · Member since 2017 · 6k+ posts · 6k+ votes
6y
Fresh paint smells great-like bread in the oven when you are selling. Tenants also hate the dirt of the previous tenant. That's why it pays to have the unit sparkling clean in every possible way. Renting early can be as good as renting for more.
Property Manager · Jacksonville, FL · Member since 2020 · 8 posts · 6 votes
6y
It’s extremely cheap to do and as the others said it gives it a new feeling that people like when they first walk in the door. The tan and light brown stage is dated and can immediately turn people off.
I have no opinion on if paint will get you more rent per month or not, but if you do decide to paint, the restore sells their own mixed brand. My local restore has a color called Muddy, which is right between Revere pewter and edgecomb Gray. I used it on my single-family rental, and also my basement apartment. It's lovely, on-trend, and only $40 for 5 gallon bucket.
Real Estate Broker · Saint Cloud, FL · Member since 2017 · 4 posts · 2 votes
6y
@Praveen Balaji
Hi,
Beige or grey will not make a big difference in tenant attraction unless one is dark. Clean looking walls is the goal. Tenants who are ok with dinged up paint are not the type to care for your property as well, I figure.
Realtor · WV · Member since 2018 · 454 posts · 310 votes
6y
I think paint is one of the best and most important improvements you can make to a home if it needs painted. In this case it sounds like you would be covering good paint, with what the current trending color. I think this could be a good idea for a flip, but not a rental unless your in a high end where all the details will make a big difference.
Real Estate Coach · Salt Lake City, UT · Member since 2017 · 272 posts · 414 votes
6y
Some tenants care and some tenants don't. Beige is a color that was in vogue several years back... if you have a B-class paint in a C-class asset, you're probably going to be fine doing a touch-up job. If you have granite and stainless, you need to go grey.
As many have mentioned, grey is the "in" color now... it may rent quicker if painted (though you'll never be able to verify) and you may get a small bump in rent for repainting. There's a multifamily operator in my neck of the woods that offers to paint an "accent wall" in the bedroom or living room for an additional $10/month. Sometimes it helps to get creative...
Now, on a personal level, I'm active duty military, so we've been frequent renters and occasional buyers of SFH... wall and carpet color don't matter to me one bit... but they DO matter to my wife. Incidentally, our house is painted various shades of "agreeable" grey with white accents, but there's only three or four shades of grey, definitely not 50....