Periodic maintenance like painting can put a big dent in any property owner’s budget; and taking the lowest bidder can seem enticing. but consider this: In most cases it actually costs you MORE in the long run to get a series of inferior paint jobs than to pay for a quality paint job once.
EXTERIOR PAINTING
Let’s say you own an average-size property in the Denver market. Typically, a full-service exterior paint job will cost between $3500 and $4500 and will easily last 10, 15, possibly 20 years. That means if your bill is on the high side, even if the longevity of your paint job is on the short end your per-year cost is still less than $500. Now, if a cheaper low-quality paint job were to cost only $2500, but only last five years and require another paint job you will pay $50 more per year (considering no inflation over five years) and have twice the headaches in the long run. Not only that, but the cheaper job won’t have the labor budgeted to properly prep the project, so your investment risks serious damage from the elements. Ultimately, the fiscally sound choice is to properly protect your investment with a high-quality paint job using state-of-the-art technologies and most current methods for applying surface coatings.
INTERIOR PAINTING
As Grandma used to say, “You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar.” So it goes with interior paint on rental properties. Let’s face it: a house that has ‘rental white’ from floor to ceiling isn’t going to create the same kind of appeal as a home where a little more care is given to aesthetics. That’s the kind of intrinsic value a good interior paint job adds to your property… and by creating a higher level of demand you can often adjust your pricing up and have higher-quality tenants as a result. Better tenants usually take better care of your investment and are more likely to fulfill their lease term. So in the long run it’s more profitable to spend a few hundred dollars up front for the long-term dividends.