I live in a townhouse complex and the gutters, garage door etc, will need repainting soon. The body corporate has a wide range of colours - based on colourbond - which we can choose from. I grabbed swatches of possible colours and tested them against the yellowy gold bricks. The colours I liked best didn't look right and one I'd discounted did. So try and see what seems to work to you; squint if necessary but stand back a bit and see The two biggest colours are the brick and the roof, so see what works with them. I suspect black will be too stark a contrast.

Are you sure the roof is stainless steel?? That is VERY expensive and only used in very exposed corrosive coastal locations since it lasts forever. I think it might be Zincalume, a low cost but very durable and very common roofing material that has a light silvery surface and should last for 50 years. Definitely do NOT paint the roof black (or any dark colour), it would add more than 10° to the internal heat load, and you would have to spend so much more on insulation and on-going AC costs just to get back to where you are now. Have the roof checked and repaired by a roof plumber instead. If it's an old leaky galvanised iron roof at the end of it's days, replace it with zincalume. The porch roof looks like it needs replacing, but I would replace it with new roofing, possibly the insulated sandwich panel kind, that has a smooth white underside, then add a gutter to the front edge so you don't make your visitors walk under a waterfall in the rain. The canvas awning suggested earlier would not last as long without looking tired and would require the removal of existing roof structure, so I think it would be the more costly option (and you would still have the waterfall problem). I would leave the front fence as is, it ties in nicely with the house, but trim the tree. The back deck could easily be roofed to match the front, and be more useful to tenants with weather protection. It would be good to make all trim colours the same, and against the cream brick I think the dark grey you have on the front door and columns works quite well. I would make the other windows and trim, as well as the weatherboards over the back door match that if it just involves painting. However, it's not essential and if it means changing powdercoat finishes it would be too costly to be worthwhile in a rental.

I recently re-potted my ficus only to find yellow eggs or tiny balls clumped to the side of the pot. Never had root rot. Good draining soil. Healthy plant. So I changed the soil and pot and now it has returned to the drainage holes. Does anyone know what it is and what to do?

First step -- live in it for 6 months ! But even aside from that , I'd possibly spend the paint budget elsewhere -- by that I mean even if you did the walls an offwhite or something with a slight blue tinge etc , it will still lack warmth and character IMO . The tiles are okay , the 80's tones are dated but the white plantation shutters lift it . See how pleasant the bedroom looks with the matt black bedframe ? See how boring the kitchen looks , even with wood or wood-look formica or whatever material it is ? Me , I'd do most furniture in black and/or a warmer ( maybe cedar toned ? ) timber , with some colourful art in matt black frames ( you'd want warm tones in the art -- without the frame they would look tacky against the buttery walls IMO ) . If the kitchen is timber or timber veneer , I'd consider similar cedar type tones , or maybe even a Japanese Black stain , but with modern stools ( those slightly tacky coloured fibreglass and chrome ones would work at a pinch -- personally I'd go more unique but that depends on budget and what you can discover ) . Likewise , I'd go for say a wheat coloured lounge suite with colourful ( reds , yellows , oranges , white stripes , etc ) cushions , or maybe go 'classy' with buttoned brown leather and a large rug ? In other words , its not too bad , and can form an interesting base . Going a more modern offwhite with a slight tone may sound more appealling , but why be like 80% of everyone else ?