Painting for the next owner
The Handbook of Texas says the city grew rapidly in the 1870s, reaching about 6,000 people, with a cottonseed oil mill and other new industries from 1871 and Austin College moving to the city in 1876. In a city of any age, one of the most common jobs a painter gets is the repaint between one owner and the next.
A pre-sale repaint is a different job from painting a home you'll live in. The goal is clean, even, neutral walls that photograph well and don't distract a buyer, done on a deadline. This guide explains what changes the price.
The shape of the job
Painters usually price an interior by the room or by the area of walls and ceilings, adjusted for what makes each room harder. For a whole house, expect the estimate to be built from:
- Wall area in each room, including closets if you want them done.
- Ceilings, which are slower than walls and often need a separate flat ceiling paint.
- Trim, doors and window casings, which take careful cutting-in and a harder-wearing finish.
- Stairwells and tall entries, where ladders, planks or a scaffold slow the work.
Color change is the hidden multiplier
Many sellers move from personal colors to a light neutral. That's often the biggest variable in a pre-sale bid:
- Covering a deep or saturated color usually needs a primer coat before two finish coats.
- Light-over-light with sound walls may cover in fewer coats.
- Rooms with a mix of colors take more cutting and more paint.
Ask each painter how many coats they've priced for each room, and whether a primer is included where the color changes.
Repairs that show in listing photos
Fresh paint makes flaws more visible, not less. Before a sale, walls often need:
- Nail and anchor holes filled where pictures and shelves came down.
- Dents, dings and doorknob holes patched.
- Cracks at corners and over doors taped or caulked.
- Water stains sealed with a stain-blocking primer so they don't bleed through.
- Patched spots primed so they don't show as dull patches in the new finish.
Some painters include minor patching; larger drywall repairs are usually a separate line. Our guide to drywall repair and surface preparation explains what each repair involves.
Empty rooms or full ones
An empty house is the cheapest to paint: no furniture to move, cover and put back, and the crew can work several rooms at once. If you're still living there, expect the painter to price time for moving and covering furniture, or to ask you to clear rooms in stages. Ask which they've assumed.
Finishes buyers will touch
Walls in a low-sheen finish hide small imperfections. Trim and doors in satin or semi-gloss clean easily and look crisp. Kitchens and bathrooms often get a more washable finish. Our paint sheens and finishes guide goes through the choices. Using one wall color through most of the house also keeps the paint order simple and leaves touch-up paint that works everywhere.
Schedule pressure
Listing dates, inspections and moving trucks put pressure on a pre-sale repaint. A short deadline can mean a bigger crew or longer days, which some painters price higher. Give the painter your real dates when you ask for a quote, and ask:
- How many working days does the job take?
- Can rooms be finished in an order that suits photography or staging?
- When will the paint be dry enough to move furniture back?
Older homes and lead
If the house was built before 1978, scraping or sanding old paint on trim, windows and doors can raise lead dust. Under EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule, anyone paid to do work that disturbs paint in homes, childcare facilities and preschools built before 1978 must hold RRP certification, firms included, even sole proprietorships, and their workers must be trained in lead-safe work practices. Lead-safe setup, containment and cleanup take time and materials, and they belong in the quote. Ask whether the firm holds RRP certification before work begins.
Comparing pre-sale quotes
Line up each proposal and check the rooms included, ceilings and trim yes or no, number of coats, primer where colors change, patching scope, furniture handling, the schedule and the cleanup. The interior painting page and the pricing guide cover the rest.