I know this is a revived thread, but since I was a painting contractor in a previous life, I figured I would give my professional opinion on this concerning rentals and flips.
Exterior Brand and Grade: Currently (because in the past you couldn't pay a real painter to use it), Behr Premium Plus paint is very high quality and rated one of the best paint brands on the market. It covers and holds up very well. That being said, I am still hesitant to try it on the inside of a house only because I have had so many problems in the past and I have other "go to" paints for the interior.
Exterior Sheen: Satin or better. Never use flat. Satin has enough sheen to be washable, while also hiding many imperfections. Flat paint looks fine at first, but after it rains a few times, it will look like a dirty chalk board. Don't even try to pressure wash it. Keep in mind that Solid Stain is different and falls into a category of it's own.
Paint Type: Use water based paint, not oil.
Primer: Always use exterior primer on bare wood. Even if the paint says it is a paint and primer in one, don't believe it. While it may have some priming abilities, I would not trust it for the long haul and I would expect to have to replace rotten wood much sooner. I would also personally stick with oil based primer. Kilz or Zinsser are the brands I would stick with.
Exterior Paint Color: This is usually a matter of preference, but here are a few things to consider. If you are in a typical neighborhood, then you will want to stay neutral. Neutral colors in general are moving away from browns and beiges and more towards blues and grays. With that being said, you will also have to learn to work with what you got. For instance, if the roof is brown (and painting it is not an option) then go with warmer tone colors. If the roof is black or grey, go with more grey or cool tones. Keep in mind, your roof is a huge part if the overall color scheme on the outside of your house. As for trim color, you generally can't go wrong with a good clean white.
Interior Paint Brand and Grade: Both BM and SW are great paints and I have used both. Some grades are better than others and some simply aren't worth the money. Personally, I use PPG WonderTones for the walls, BM advanced for the Trim and Cabinets and PPG 1801 Wonder Shield for trim on rentals and lower end flips.
Interior Sheen: Eggshell for walls, Satin or Semi-Gloss for trim, for both rentals and flips. You don't ever want to go flat on either. Flat is not washable and it collects oils and dirt from peoples hands, head and any other parts of the body that may touch the walls or trim. It also has a tendency to soak in any type of moisture that touches it, to include, drinks, food, urine and other bodily fluids. Your goal when it comes to rentals is to be able to hide as many imperfections as possible, while also being able to clean the walls and trim after a move out, rather than paint. In the very least, you want to be able to clean up as many walls and trim as possible and paint as little as possible. You may find yourself, cleaning the walls and trim in some rooms and repainting some walls and trim in the other rooms. Still better than a full repaint. This is also why it is important to stick with the same colors so that you can easily do touch ups or paint single walls in a room. For flips, the goal is similar. You want to hide as many imperfections as possible, while also providing a decent product to the future home owner that will allow them to clean their walls for years to come.
For ceilings, you generally want to go with a flat white for both rentals and flips. But on lower end rentals, you may want to go with an eggshell so that the ceilings are also washable. This is especially true for lower end apartments, town homes and duplexes.
For closets in flip houses, I would go with a flat ceiling white for small closets and I would go with the wall color of the rooms in walk in closets. For rentals, I would go with eggshell white.
Paint type: Water based, not oil based.
Interior Primer: You can go with either water based or oil based here. However, I would highly suggest using an oil based anywhere there is a lot of moisture. Kilz or Zinsser are the brands I would stick with.
Interior Paint Colors: As I have mentioned already, cooler grey tones are trending, so stick with those. BM GreyTint (cooler, bluer color) and SW Agreeable Grey (more of a greige) are good choices. Trim generally go white.
Additional notes: For most flips and definitely most rentals, you shouldn't go too crazy on color design. Just stick with neutrals and what looks good. Don't worry too much about accent walls (unless it is really needed for a flip) or multiple colors. Basically, just keep it simple. For super low end flips, you may even want to go with an antique white on both walls and trim, even ceilings. Just make sure you stick with the same paint and sheen. That being said, I think that this makes for a really ugly rental and it generally don't advise it.
