professional painter or diy

Professional Painter or DIY? Selling Faster Answers from STL Realtor

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Scott Helt REMAX Suburban

Realtor Scott Helt with REMAX Suburban – Chesterfield, MO

Dramatically reducing the time it takes to sell your home is challenging. Regardless the preparation you make to get your home ‘buyer ready’, many times, the discussion of painting your home will either slow or excel the selling process.

Guest blogger, Scott Helt of Remax Suburban, shares his four answers to St. Louis home sellers age old question, “Should we hire a professional painter or do it ourselves?”

Scott writes:

“As we head into the home selling season we are asked numerous times by sellers for the most effective ways they should spruce up their homes to increase sell-ability. The number one recommendation we tell home sellers is (if they are serious and want to be competitive quickly) go ahead, hire a professional painter and have your home painted.

Scott’s Answers:

A Professional Painter Helps Homes Sell Faster.

 

ANSWER NUMBER ONE, or the main reason we recommend hiring a professional painter is TIME.  A majority of sellers do not have the personal time it takes to paint & neutralize a house in a timely fashion.

A professional painter has made their craft a time-sensitive art. From the acquisition of quality materials, starting early and finishing well, a professional painter dedicates their singular-focus to making your home look great while you concentrate on many other tasks.

See Michelle McMahan portfolio example re: TIME

ANSWER NUMBER TWO is patience. Home sellers do not have the required patience to paint and touch up their house effectively – while at the same time – trying to de-clutter and clean. As they prepare their home to list for sale the patience a professional painter can provide escapes them.

Think of when you’re in a rush. Kids need driving to events, you’re held late at work, you’ve got to plan packing, meetings, etc. Scott asks, “So you think you’re going to paint as well as a professional painter, room by room, while your life is in such a whirlwind?”

ANSWER NUMBER THREE is experience. Nothing looks worse than an attempt to patch and paint when a seller really hasn’t painted for many years. Painfully, many painting projects end up looking much worse than what they did before they were attempted.

He asks: “What’s your level of expertise?” If you’ve never painted a room in your home, better yet, painted the exterior, you’re going to find yourself seriously overwhelmed. It’s true, painting looks easy. Yet getting a sell-ability finished product is difficult for a amateur painter. A Professional painter knows the tricks of the trade. They never cut corners and are determined to achieving great-looking results. Please, if you don’t know what you’re doing, remember it’s easy to make a big mess and in a hurry.

ANSWER NUMBER FOUR by making a small investment patching & painting your house professionally makes a world of difference to a would be buyer – especially – a home painted in a neutral colors or just primed.

Specifically Scott shares: Bring your house together with same or similar colors. Accents to a few walls is alright. Remember, when buyers see glaring red, yellow and blue walls, they see a lot of work. Prospective buyers are in the process of MOVING. They’re overwhelmed with so many things other to do. Light colors are most appealing, but if you can – stay fairly neutral. Work with a Sherwin Williams or Porter Paints and a professional painter to find a combination of muted yellows, cream colors, lighter browns, and more to develop a much warmer, richer look. At all costs avoid stark white, gloss black, very dark and bold colors.

For more, find Scott:

Scott R. Helt
Realtor/Buyer Specialist
RE/MAX Suburban
Cell # (314) 598-8102
Search ALL active properties @
www.scott.freestlhomesearch.com

professional painters

3 Ways Professional Painters Distinguish Themselves

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Professional painters have been around the block and know how to ensure quality every time they do a great painting project. For them, this is NOT a new rodeo. After many hours, projects that succeed and fail, professional painters have stood the test of time against some of the toughest projects and come out on top.

So what are some of the ways professional painters set themselves apart from the run of the mill paycheck painters?

How Professional Painters set themselves apart

 

1) Concentrating on creating lifetime customers and developing raving fans.

You’ve been there as a customer. You need some painting done to the interior or exterior of your home. So, you carefully consider doing it yourself or hiring someone to do it for you. But who do you call? Like a good number of people, you turn to your friends for the best word of mouth.

One small problem, when it comes to painting, some one always knows a friend-of-a-friend who does painting on the side. Maybe its someone down on their luck. But rest assured, you let the word out, you can always find a person willing to dip a brush.

Yet professional painters distinguish themselves from the rest of the crowd by developing the relationship skills needed to keep customers for life and then convert them into raving fans.

Here’s how:

  • Great painting company leaders listen closely. Details are critical.
  • Professional painters offer helpful suggestions when necessary.
  • They communicate well with you, their team, designers and suppliers.
  • The best always make it right. If something’s not up to snuff, they accommodate your needs.
  • Professional painters involve you like you’re part of their family.

2) Staying true to their word.

A professional painter and painting company sets themselves apart from the competition through their ability to keep their word. They’ve learned that keeping your word, a combination of Trust and Integrity, is actually a competitive advantage to their business.

Ways in which they maintain keeping their word:

  • Never sugar coat anything – The temptation to lie in the home remodeling and refinishing world is a gigantic hurdle. However, professional painters have learned to tell it like it is. Come what may – do what’s right.
  • Under-promise and over-serve – Just as abrasive as lying is making unkept promises. True, sometimes deadlines are missed, yet, a true professional painter learns to set reasonable objectives and let’s his work do the talking. Never promise what you can’t or don’t know you’ll be able to deliver.
  • Like Niké – They Just Do It – A professional painter does not complain, pitch a fit or grumble about the situation. They keep their word by simply doing what they’ve stated.

3) Delivering great looking work – the moment – it’s finished.

It goes without saying, “The Proof is in the Pudding“.

A professional painter places himself on a higher plateau than his competitors by delivering work, which as soon as it is finished. is stunning. They leave the customer in a state of professional awe.

The way a professional painter can deliver this quality that lasts the test of time is through consistency.

A professional painter:

  • Has the right tools for the job. You can tell (they have paint on them) and deliver stunning results.
  • Dedicates just as much, if not more, time to preparation than application.
  • Goes to great lengths to protect your property. When they are done, while the paint looks great, you would not know they were there otherwise.

Find a professional painter that can deliver these three professional characteristics and you’re on your way to a great project. A project that satisfies you on more than one level.