What we paint in rentals
When a tenant moves out, the walls usually tell the story. Nail holes where pictures hung. Scuffs down the hallway. A dent behind a door where the knob hit the wall. Marks where a couch sat against the paint. A fresh coat makes the place easier to show and easier to rent.
We paint rental houses, duplexes, townhomes and small apartment units across Greenville and Spartanburg counties. Between tenants, that usually means:
- Walls in every room, or just the rooms that need it.
- Ceilings, which pick up stains and yellowing over time.
- Trim and baseboards, where vacuums and furniture leave their marks.
- Doors, both sides of the slab and the jamb.
You tell us what is on your list. We walk the unit with you, point out anything else we see, and you decide what gets done.
Patching before paint
Paint won’t hide a hole. If the wall isn’t fixed first, the patch you skipped shows through the new color the first time light hits it from the side.
So before paint goes on, we fill nail holes and anchor holes, sand out dings and scrapes, and prime the patched spots so they don’t flash through the finish. Bigger damage, like a doorknob through the drywall or a water stain on the ceiling, is part of our drywall repair work. It shows up on the written price so you know what it costs before we start. For more on when a patch is enough, read our guide on drywall repair and when to patch or replace.
Choosing paint for a rental
We use Sherwin-Williams at three levels. Two of them come up the most in rentals:
- Essential (SuperPaint). Solid, good-looking paint for guest rooms, ceilings and rentals. A good fit for bedrooms and ceilings in most units.
- Performance (Duration Home). It stands up to scrubbing and scuffs. Worth it in kitchens, hallways, kids’ rooms and anywhere tenants will wipe the walls down.
- Showcase (Emerald). Top of the line. Most landlords don’t need it, but it is there if you want it.
A lot of owners mix them. Essential on ceilings and bedrooms, Performance in the kitchen and halls. We help you sort that out at the estimate.
Keeping colors and sheens the same
This is general advice, not a rule. If you own more than one unit, picking one wall color, one trim color and one sheen for each surface and sticking with them makes life easier. Touch-ups between tenants blend in. You aren’t guessing which white went on the trim three years ago. Leftover paint from one unit works in the next.
Write down the color name, the paint line and the sheen for each unit and keep it with your records. Sheen matters as much as color. A flat wall touches up better than a satin one, and a touch-up in a shinier sheen tends to show. Our guide to paint sheen room by room explains why. A free color consult comes with every estimate if you want help settling on a standard.
Access, scheduling and occupied units
Every rental is set up a little differently. Some units are empty between tenants. Some still have someone living there. An empty unit is simpler to work in, and an occupied one means working around a tenant’s things and their day. Who lets us in, and when, depends on the property.
Scheduling and access are things we talk through when you call. Tell us what you need when you call and we will be straight about what we can do.
Outside the house and the doors
Rental houses need paint on the outside too. Faded siding, peeling trim and a tired front door make a house harder to rent and harder to keep up. We repaint siding, trim, fascia and soffits with a pressure wash and two coats on the siding. See exterior painting for how we do it.
Doors are often the quickest change. A clean front door and a fresh garage door make a rental look cared for from the street. See door and garage door painting.
Getting a rental ready to list
Selling a rental, or putting it back on the market after years of tenants? That is a little different from a turnover. The goal is clean, neutral walls, fixed damage and a house that photographs well. See getting a house ready to sell for how we handle that work.
What affects the price
You get a written price before we start. We walk the property, look at what needs painting and what needs fixing, and put it in writing for the unit or for the job. Here is what moves it:
- Size and what gets painted. Walls only, or walls, ceilings, trim and doors.
- Patching. A few nail holes is quick. Holes through the drywall and water stains take more.
- Color change. Going from a dark color to a light one often takes an extra coat.
- Paint level. Essential, Performance or Showcase.
- Outside work. Siding, trim and doors are priced on their own.
See how we price. If you are getting bids from a few painters, our guide on questions to ask a painter helps you compare them side by side. We are licensed (RBS 66117) and insured, based in Duncan, and we work across Greenville and Spartanburg counties, including Greenville, Spartanburg and Greer. Every job comes with our 12-month workmanship warranty. Financing is available through Wisetack or Klarna for eligible customers. Back to commercial painting.