Another angle

Don't paint the brick. Paint the shutters, wrought ironwork and garage door dark green. Perhaps replace the wrought ironwork. Can the windows be painted?

Hire a good landscaper. Relocate the dish and grill.

Money spent inside will have a better pay back.

Since you like Farmhouse, you could do a lime wash and then change the shutters to cedar and replace the metal work with wood. Another option would be paint the shutters and garage door a nice charcoal and the metal work black

If you are getting it ready to rent, upgrades are a waste of money. Clean/paint everything that needs it, and make sure everything works. Get your ads out there and start interviewing. Your most important job is selecting the right tenants.

Remove the shutters they do not belong o anything contemporary.I don’t agree about the inside being more important they are equal if the outside looks bad no one wants to go inside. If possible get the satellite dish and the BBQ out of the front. I don’t usually like painting brick you can’t go back but maybe becasue this is not your forever home it might be a good idea The front porch needs some TLC and a change and a nice MCM door and then some simple landscaping look at some ideas for MCM landscaping.

You want to paint the brick off-black??? Who does that? Who are your potential clients, the Addams family? That is a hillbilly idea if ever there was one.

You need to do work on the house that will appeal to your potential clients, not your free-ranging design whims. That house needs to appeal to the widest possible audience of people who want to live in that neighborhood. Do nothing experimental or "fun". Landlords get the renters they deserve.

You want the house to make a great first impression; concentrate on that.

The brick is really a nice color, and zero maintenance; leave it as it is. Spruce everything up and add some shrubs--the house looks barren and forlorn sitting there like that. Make the landscaping as easy to maintain as possible for the renters' sake--no fiddly mowing.

The shutters are undersized and fake looking; I'd remove them. The porch columns don't give a particularly good impression, but replacing them would also involve replacing the railing (which you need to keep if the renters have kids, no matter what code says).

And, most importantly, make sure everything inside is in perfect working order--like new, so you and they have fewer things to go wrong.

It looks like a perfect example of its time and type. Paint the trim and shutters, put up some window screens, add a garage door opener and good lighting for when you drive up.

Shutters were often used when this house was built for sheer decorative purposes, adding color and balance to the front facade. I think they'd look good with a new coat of paint.

Getting rid of the shutters will make the brick too dominant (unless you add more windows).

Paint everything that is currently gray a softer less contrasting color.

If you want more contemporary you do need to paint the brick. Red brick isn't contemporary without strong contemporary lines built into the house. I'd paint it white, light or wash it, there is too much of it to paint black.

Your house is cute- Emphasize cottage cuteness. Cedar wrap the old curlicue wrought iron posts. KEEP the shutters and add cedar window boxes. Remove parts of lawn for larger planting beds & install a drip system. Since HOUZZ is a pain to post pictures-- See this link:. https://www.shadesofblueinteriors.com/home-exterior-makeover-plans/

" up to speed with the surrounding houses..." What style are they? Pics?

RES 3D- The house isn't gray, it is red brick

Some inspiration with charcoal shutters and garage door.

or black shutters

Paint the red steps to match the gray concrete porch. If the wrought iron is rusted, paint it with Rustoleum. Remove the shutters, BBQ and dish. Make sure there is nothing wrong that would cause the new renter and you any grief. Put your For Rent sign in the yard. Don't plant anything you don't want to be neglected and to die. Renters don't to much more than mow, and sometimes they don't even do that. Be sure they own a lawnmower and know how to use it.

If you want modern look ( I finally looked at your ideabooks), then I would eliminate shutters or get a modern ones.

May be some kind of

I meant to say "everything that is currently white".

If you were going to live in this house I might say go ahead and paint it. Since it is a rental, why do you want to add to the upkeep? Just make the suggested changes and of course landscaping.

Wrapping up the project in the next steel or so. Thanks for all the inspiration and suggestions

That looks great!

Looks good.

So much better! Very fresh looking!