Paint the exterior stair case and window frames a lighter colour if you must and something contrasting on the shutters and doors. 

Find out techniques to convince them that even though I don't have some six figure some to bring to the table I'm not just some dead weight trying to leech off them.

A good agent can be worth his weight in gold-pressed latinum.

A couple small areas on the front that were painted with a lighter color (almost the same though).

Or, I thought about just throwing up some lighter shutters & painting the stucco a light color. 

Cheap budget upgrades for your 10K budget, I would definitely:Paint the whole house repose grey (Sherwin Williams) with white trimIf flooring isn't the same or needs to be replaced.. a nice, lighter colored laminate throughoutNew baseboard trim, 5.25"H adds a nice touch (and paint all trim bright white)Kitchen.. if old cabinets, paint them.

But, we do not plan on staying in our current house forever so that doesn't seem like too much weight should be put into that.

Yes I understand that at end of day it'll still need to rely on buyer due dilligence to verify and it's a risk management decision, but tax return filing does carry more weight than seller's income/expense statement in my mind. 

The foyer, kitchen, and bathrooms are in the lighter planks.  

Ask 1,000 people and get 1,000 different answers.A good property manager is worth their weight in gold.