A paint turnover checklist for Quincy-area landlords

How do you decide which turnover tier a rental unit needs?

The scope should follow the condition, not habit. A tenant who stayed a year and kept the place clean may leave walls that need only a wash and spot touch-ups. A three-year tenancy usually means scuffs along hallways, marks behind beds and couches, and nail holes everywhere, which calls for a full wall repaint. Every few turnovers, ceilings, trim and doors catch up with the walls and the unit needs the full treatment.

Sorting units into tiers on move-out day makes budgeting and scheduling much easier, especially across a portfolio of two-families and triple-deckers in Wollaston, North Quincy and Quincy Point. Walk the unit with good light, look at walls at an angle, check the kitchen and bath ceilings, and open every door to see the edges. Take photos. That record also helps if the security deposit becomes a discussion.

• Tier 1, touch-up: patch nail holes, spot prime, touch up walls in matching paint
• Tier 2, standard: patch, prime repairs, two coats on all walls
• Tier 3, full: walls, ceilings, trim, doors and closets, plus repairs

Which colors and sheens make the next turnover easier?

The best turnover color is the one you can buy again in five years. Pick one warm neutral for walls across all your units, record the brand, color name and sheen in a simple file, and stick with it. That turns many future turnovers from a full repaint into a touch-up. Off-white or very light greige reads clean in listing photos and covers easily over itself.

Sheen matters as much as color. Flat paint hides wall flaws but marks easily and does not touch up evenly once it ages. Eggshell is a good middle ground for living rooms and bedrooms. Satin wears better in hallways, kitchens and baths. Semi-gloss belongs on trim, doors and radiators, where hands and vacuum cleaners hit hardest. Ceilings get a flat ceiling white, which hides roller marks and the uneven plaster common in older Quincy units.

Keep a labeled quart of each wall and trim color in the basement of every building, sealed tight and stored above freezing. Fresh paint from the same formula still touches up better than a guess, but a stored can lets a maintenance visit fix a scuff mid-lease in minutes. Write the unit number and the date on the lid so nobody uses a five-year-old can of the wrong sheen.

What about ceilings, trim and doors between tenants?

Ceilings are easy to skip and usually fine for a few cycles, except in kitchens and bathrooms. Cooking grease, steam and smoke leave a yellow film there, and bath ceilings often show mildew spots near the shower. Those ceilings get washed, treated with a mildew cleaner where needed and painted with a stain-blocking ceiling paint. Water stains from an upstairs unit or a winter ice dam need a stain-blocking primer first or they bleed back through.

Trim and doors take the most direct wear. Door edges near handles, baseboards behind furniture and window sills collect dirt and chips. A coat of semi-gloss on doors and baseboards every second or third turnover keeps units looking cared for. In buildings from before 1978, which covers most Quincy-area rentals, these old trim layers are presumed to contain lead paint, so scraping and sanding call for lead-safe practices and a careful cleanup check. Massachusetts has its own lead law for rental housing with young children, and owners should check their obligations with the state.

What repairs should happen before the painters arrive?

Painting goes fastest when everything else that touches the walls is already done. Order the work so that patching, plumbing and electrical come first, painting comes next, and cleaning and flooring touch-ups come last. A painter arriving to find the electrician still pulling outlets or a plumber opening a wall loses a day, and a fresh wall gets damaged.

Before painting day, remove or decide on everything mounted to walls: curtain rods, TV brackets, shelves and hooks left by the last tenant. Clear the unit of furniture and belongings. Replace broken outlet and switch covers so the painters can reinstall clean ones. If there are larger holes, cracked plaster or water damage, flag them on the walk-through so repair time is in the schedule rather than discovered on day one.

• Remove tenant hardware, anchors and hooks
• Finish plumbing, electrical and carpentry repairs
• Note any water stains or cracked plaster
• Have the unit empty and broom clean
• Schedule cleaners and flooring after painting

How long does turnover painting take between move-out and move-in?

Plan around the calendar early. Across Quincy and the Boston area, a large share of leases turn over on September 1, and painters' schedules fill up in the last two weeks of August. If you know a unit is coming open, call ahead and reserve days for the week after move-out rather than waiting for the keys. Units near the Red Line stops at Wollaston, North Quincy and Quincy Center rent fast, so a short vacancy matters.

As a rough guide, a touch-up turnover takes one day. A standard walls-only repaint of a one or two bedroom apartment usually takes two to three working days. A full repaint with ceilings, trim and doors on a typical triple-decker floor can take four to six days, longer if plaster repair is needed. Leave at least a day between painting and the new tenant's move-in so the paint can dry and the unit can be cleaned and aired out.

What does rental turnover painting cost in the Quincy area?

For planning, a standard walls-only turnover in a one or two bedroom Quincy-area apartment often runs in the range of $1,560 to $3,480. Full repaints with ceilings, trim and doors, or larger triple-decker floors, run higher. Touch-up visits cost much less. These are typical ranges only. The walk-through sets the real number once the condition, unit size and repair needs are clear.

Landlords with several units often save time by setting a standard scope, color and sheen for every turnover and scheduling a walk-through as soon as a notice to vacate arrives. Questions about a unit coming open? Call Cranston Paint at (617) 576-8235. The line is answered 24/7, and we'll set a walk-through and a written estimate around your move-out and move-in dates.