The entire South Shore rental properties require regular maintenance to keep in good condition. A large section of this maintenance includes painting the interior walls. It looks like a pretty simple task to roll or brush some paint on wherever needed. But an easy painting job can instantly become a nightmare if you’re not properly prepared. Even if you’re getting your rental home ready for a new tenant or giving your property’s walls a much-needed facelift, there are certain tricks the professionals use to ensure a better outcome. By adopting these pro tips and tricks, you can develop your next interior paint job to both look better and become easier to accomplish.
Prep the Right Way
As anyone with experience painting interior walls will tell you, preparing your surfaces before you start to paint is half the battle. You should not only prep the walls to be painted, but also protect any adjacent surfaces, furniture, and light fixtures. To work like a professional, start by removing all light switch and outlet plates, window coverings, and anything else on the walls. Then, get a tack cloth to clean your walls and trim. Tack cloth is a specific kind of cheesecloth designed to remove dust and debris from painted surfaces without water. When you have wiped down your surfaces, it’s certainly a perfect time to mask off adjacent surfaces utilizing low-stick painter’s tape and masking film. Once you are done, you can easily cover windows, light fixtures, and floors. It would be smarter if you also used several larger drop cloths to cover furniture and to protect your floors from drips and spills.
Use Quality Materials and Paint
Like many other South Shore rental property owners, you’re probably budget-conscious. However, attempting to cut costs by purchasing cheap materials and paint is not a good idea. To achieve a professional result, invest in good-quality brushes, rollers, and paint pans. And also, you need to choose quality paint. Cheap paint may seem like a deal, but chances are you’ll end up needing multiple coats to get the same coverage that a better-quality paint can achieve in one coat. And that could lead to buying more paint and spending more time painting your interior walls to obtain maximum coverage compared to if you originally purchased a higher quality paint.
Paint Like a Pro
When you’re ready to start painting, make sure that you have everything you’ll need on hand. Several pro painters will wear latex or nitrile gloves to keep their hands clean. You need to cover your hair and clothes, as well. Paint rollers tend to splatter a little, especially while painting ceilings. Begin with the edges of the room and work your way toward the center. This will help avoid roller marks. However, in case your paint job takes another day to be done, wrap your brushes and rollers in plastic overnight. Just ensure that your wrapping is airtight. This will keep them from drying out and save you time cleaning them in between painting sessions.
Or Hire a Pro
Of course, one of the quickest methods to acquire a professional result is to hire professionals to paint your rental property’s interiors. It can be a challenge to know who you can trust to do a good job, and simply picking a name off a list is not a good idea. You can check for a quality painter by asking around, especially at your local paint or hardware store. Other exceptional sources include local real estate professionals and experts at Real Property Management Associates. Once you have a shortlist of names, make sure you get at least three bids for the job. You may be pressed for time, but that doesn’t mean you have to pay over the market rate for quality work. Lastly, never pay the painter upfront. That is a huge red flag and may mean they are trying to scam you. If the painter you hired asks for payment in full before starting the job, find another painter.
Painting your rental property’s interiors doesn’t have to be an issue. This is true, especially if you know all the tips and tricks the professionals use to get beautiful results in no time.
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