I am going to paint the interior of 3 apartments and I want to know how much to bid a 1 bedroom apartment 644square feet? I want to know how much to bid a 2 bedroom apartment 844 square feet? I want to know how much to bid a 3 bedroom apartment 960 square feet? Thanks

It would help to know where you live in order to answer your question better. Around where I live, the going rate per square foot is about 70 cents for two finish coats of paint. That rate will be a little more, if the walls or ceilings have any sort of texture on them. If there is extensive work to be done other than painting, such as washing of the walls, scraping, patching and sanding, then that will add to the cost. If you need to paint a coat of primer first, that will also add to the cost.

I always insist on applying two coats of paint. It is spelled out in my contract. There is no such thing as a one-coat paint. To advertise that there is a one-coat paint is just a way for a paint manufacturer to sell their paint. The only time that a one coat application would work is if you are using exactly the same colors on the surface to be painted and the last paint job done on those surfaces was within say, as years time.

If you have a contract (which I hope you will have, as this protects both you and the customer), you can make a provision in it that will allow for any additional work that is performed will be mutually agreed upon by the customer and the contractor. Also, in a contract, you can specify some sort of guarantee to the customer.

If you want to ask about contracts, I can help you with that. The answer would be lengthy. But, you have just wanted an answer as to how much to bid. I thought that I'd better touch on the contract thing though, because it is important.

How Long Do You Think It Will Take You To Paint Each Apartment? Figure Your Hours Up. And Then Decide On What You Have To Make An Hour For It To Be Worth Your While.
Multiply That Together And That's What You Should Charge.
I Don't Go Off Per Ft Price, Reason Being There Is Always People That Will Do The Work For Cheap And They Set Those Prices. You've Got To Get What You Want Out Of It, If You Don't You'll Start Rushing To Get It Done When It Takes You To Long And You'll Do A Bad Job.

Most professional painting contractors charge by the square foot and not by the hour. It looks much more professional to the customer if you qualify why you are charging for everything that you do based on the square footage of the room or rooms to be painted, how much paint will be used and the cost of the paint.

Customers appreciate being informed of those things. And, you are more likely to get the job if you provide substantiating documentation concerning why you are charging what you are.

I agree with that if you are a paint contractor, if your just someone getting started in this as I think he is, you'll end up screwing yourself try to compete with painters that do this for a living,

Your key word here is "professional" painters.

I paint well, and I have painted for a long time , but I couldn't price the same as a mexican crew can, so what I'm saying is he needs to take care of himself on this first job till he figures out how long it takes to complete the job.