Curb appeal is big business when it comes to the property market. Homeowners spend thousands on sprucing up their properties, all in an effort to increase the overall attractiveness of their homes. Whether you are jazzing up your home or enticing prospective buyers, when it comes to first impressions, the look and color of a simple, fresh paint job can do absolute wonders.

How much it costs to visually update your property might well be the first question on your mind. But it's a rather open ended question: considering first the cost of painting, then the cost of painting you can afford, what is a reasonable estimate for your property, should you do it yourself or hire a painting contractor, how much will the painter charge , how much SHOULD the painter charge, how do you choose a trustworthy painter … The questions can continue even further. And the answers to these questions can be far and wide. Make no mistake, you will be bamboozled if you are not prepared!

Although a comprehensive painting job to-do list is simply too much at this stage, we can create a list of guidelines which you can follow that will help put you on the right track for all your exterior house painting requirements.

• Firstly, how big is your house? For obvious reasons, size is a big factor in the cost and estimated completion time. The larger the overall surface area, the higher the potential cost.

• What kind of surface will you be painting on? An exterior wall made out of wood will be very different to paint on compared to an exterior wall made out of solid brick, and will influence the cost of the job.

• The architecture of the house is a factor to consider. Steep roofs, angled walls, roof overhangs / eaves, and multi-story buildings require more specialized skills and equipment from the painter and will affect the pricing estimate of the job.

• Where your house is located can often significantly influence the cost of a paint job. Painters can and will charge more for a house located in a more affluent, upper-class area than middle-class suburbia.

• When you want to paint, ie. The time of the year can also affect the pricing of a potential paint job. Good weather painting periods will cost the homeowner more as there is a higher demand for the painter's services at this point in time.

• Depending on your surroundings and environment, you may need specialized paint to suit the conditions around your home. Specialized paint will generally incur a higher cost than regular paint.

• Houses with many windows or doors that need to be carefully painted around will also affect that cost, as these areas require more time and skill to paint around compare to plain walls.

Be sure to obtain as many quotes as possible from different painting contractors before coming to a decision. Ask for references of nearby homes that they have worked on; if they have a professional and have confidence in their work, they should not have a problem with this. Have a drive by, and look at the property in question, so you can personally inspect their workmanship. Hopefully this will help give you the peace of mind to finally decide on how and who to paint your home.

Article originally published at Source by Anthony YW Lim