Painting your investment property’s exterior can be fun, especially if you consider yourself to be an artist at heart. However, it can also be quite exhausting, since it does require quite some time and effort. Plus, considering all the preparation work, by the time you get to the actual painting, any enthusiasm you might have had will be long gone. In order for that not to happen, here are a few tips and techniques that should help you get the job done faster and smarter so that you can move to the process of marketing your rental property and actually selling it.
Plan things ahead
First things first, if you want everything to go according to plan, you need to actually have a plan. And that should be your goal as a real estate investor. So, write down everything you intend to do on your rental property, and try to estimate the amount of time each phase of the work should take you. You don’t have to write an essay, though; simple notes on one A4 paper should be more than enough. Also, make a list of all the things you’ll need to buy, from tools to paints, and maybe set the budget as well.
Consider the weather
Most people think that the best time for painting a house is mid-summer because of the lower chance of rain. However, the best time is actually when it’s neither too hot nor too warm, and, more importantly, when there is no sun. This is because the glare or reflection from the sun can affect your eyes. So, if you can, choose a cloudy day (but not potentially rainy), or at least a bit less sunny, and try to finish the painting phase before dark.
Get everything you need
The last thing you need is running out of paint in the middle of the project or getting ready to start painting only to realize that you forgot to buy that one special brush that you need. Therefore, as a well prepared property investor, make sure to buy all the tools and materials beforehand, so you don’t have to make any trips to the store later. Also, if you need any professional scaffolding, order it in time so you don’t have to worry about it later.
Wash the property
When it comes to washing your investment property, it can be time-consuming, but it’s still necessary. Doing it by hand would take too much of your time, which is why you should consider other options. The fastest and the best choice is using a pressure washer. You should wash your property twice – once with a cleaning solution and once with clean water. If you don’t have a pressure washer and you can’t get it, you can also use a simple hose. Your main goal is getting rid of leaves, spider webs, dust, and sooth, so any kind of washing is better than nothing. In short, washing your rental property is a must, but you shouldn’t spend too much time on it.
Prime it
Although your house could benefit from being primed all over, it could take some time. Of course, if you have the time, by all means, go for it. Otherwise, focus on priming only the problematic areas of your rental property, such as raw wood. If there aren’t any problematic “areas” but only spots, use a bit of primer, brush it on, and you should be good to continue.
Scrape only as much as necessary
Scraping can usually be done fairly quickly, but the problem is not in the time needed but in the nature of scraping itself. Sometimes, it can feel like opening a Pandora’s box; the more you scrape, the more needs to get scraped. So, the general rule of the thumb is – if the edges of the paint are staying down, do not touch that area of your investment property. The new layer of paint should seal the edges and strengthen them. Therefore, scrape until you get to something that looks relatively solid, and stop there.
Use a roller on the flat areas
Using a roller can be life-saving sometimes, as it allows you to cover the sides quickly, and the layer of paint is usually thick enough to hold. If you’re good with the roller, you could finish this part in less than a day. Of course, this counts only if you’re lucky enough to actually have a flat siding. So, the main downfall is that most types of sidings actually don’t support this type of painting.
Spray it on
Another great painting technique is spraying, since it’s very fast. However, it also requires a bit more preparation, since everything that shouldn’t be sprayed needs to be covered, including the pavement. Another downfall is that, unlike using a roller, using a sprayer means that you’d get to apply only a thin layer of paint. All in all, if there are any large areas of your rental property without windows, lights, and other features, you can paint them quickly and efficiently with the sprayer.
Painting your investment property can be a long process considering all the preparation work, trips to the store, and cleaning up afterward. However, if you follow the above-listed tips, you could make the entire project much easier and more effective. And once you’ve fixed up the exterior of your rental property, you will be able to sell it for a significantly higher price, so all the time and efforts invested will be rewarded.