Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa Real Estate Investor Magazine - November 2017

IMPROVING TA Paint Your Way To Wealth Top trends, emerging colours, and expert tips BY MONIQUE DU TOIT L ong gone are the days of painting a rental property all-white and expecting a tenant to like it. In today’s competitive market, landlords are looking to differentiate their offer- ings from similar properties. Nothing is more effective in this mission than choosing the right paint. Before we get into the specifics of co- lours, it’s important to take note that not all paints are created equal. When paint- ing a rental property, your focus should be on durability and practicality. The paint we might use in a bedroom will be different from that chosen for a kitchen or bathroom. Similarly, there’s a line to be drawn between indoor and outdoor paint, paint for wood and tiles, and even paint specifically formulated for floors. High-use areas Kitchen and bathrooms are, generally speaking, the rooms in the house most exposed to moisture. Whether it be steam or spills, these rooms need to be equipped to deal with additional traffic and wear-and-tear. It makes sense, then, to use specialised paint for these areas. Most paint brands in South Africa have a specified offering for bathrooms and kitchens, with different textures taken into account. Incidentally, the kitchen and bath- room are also the two rooms that look dated first. When renting out your prop- erty, you’ll most likely be catering to a market where tenants don’t want to be doing any renovations or hard labour. As a result, the appearance of these rooms are of great importance. Easy tips to make the kitch- en and bathroom look fresh Go with neutral, light colours: You might love that turquoise, but your ten- 22 ants most likely won’t. Stick to colours that brighten up the room without re- stricting the colour scheme. Enamel is your friend: More hard- wearing than water-based, enamel paint is designed for areas that require more durable paint. Easy to clean, difficult to chip, this type of paint can also be tinted into any colour imaginable, making it versatile enough. Waterproof: In line with the enamel finish, you want paint that is water and steam resistant. Interior vs exterior The roof of a house is incredibly im- portant, which is why specially designed paint is a must. Different paint brands offer different types of paint for the roof, but the basic principle remains: the paint is durable, it has water-resistant qualities, and it protects the roof tiles. For the outside wall, you’d also need a paint that won’t chip or fade at the first sight of bad weather or a stray football. In many cases, paint manufacturers of- fer guarantees of up to 12 years for their exterior paint, giving you peace of mind. Trending colours Each year, a new colour is hailed “the best” or “most stylish”. Keep in mind, however, that you’re not painting your rental property to be trendy, but to be timeless. You want your tenant to feel comfortable in their home, while giving yourself the peace of mind that the walls are taken care of. With that said, what are the top colours of 2017? Dulux has recently announced its 2018 colour of the year: Pictured Rocks. Ac- cording to Dulux, “Pictured Rocks is the new Dulux Colour of the Year 2018 that has been chosen to help you recon- NOVEMBER 2017 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine nect with the soothing, calming colours found in nature. This contemporary paint shade can be used in a variety of colour combinations to create different moods, depending on the atmosphere you want to create in your home.” SOURCES Plascon, Dulux, The Spruce, Apartment Therapy C M Y THE PAINT BASICS Whether you choose to stick to white, or venture into the world of colour trends, you’ll need to wrap your head around the different finishes. Matte Paint has a velvet-like texture, offering very little shine. It can also help to hide imperfections, but can be difficult to clean. Satin Paint is more reflective and durable, popular for use in kitchens and bathrooms. Semi-Gloss or Gloss Paint is the most reflective, usually used for doors or trims. It’s incredibly durable, but has a tendency to highlight imper- fections. Ceilling Paint is useful since it usually only requires one layer in order to cover up previous colours. Another advantage is that it hides imperfections in the ceilling, rather than high- lighting it like gloss paint. CM MY C CY M CMY Y K CM MY CY CMY K

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