If your small town is like that, I'd definitely rent it as you'll always get the best tenants without even having to advertise. 

@Luke J Nelsen You may be able to withhold some or all of the Tenant's security deposit as damages for "cost of reletting" (defined as “leasing fees, advertising fees, utility charges, and other fees reasonably necessary to relet the Property.” 

We were so stressed out that we might have to re-do most of the kitchen and we were concerned with difficulty finding our own contractors and materials due to the COVID shortage.

Are there places that I can list the property or advertise, without a realtor, for a quick sale, knowing I would be offering a discount in exchange for a rapid settlement? 

Of course, quality resources(books/materials) to educate and sharpen your skills is key.

Or is it in part driven by market and creative advertising?

(pay close attention to the advertising timing requirements)2.

Sustainable materials cost very little in comparison.

I was writing off all of the materials I used while adding sweat equity, so it made my tax returns look poor.

Between Covid delays for permitting, construction delays to keep bringing the inspector and engineer back in as we found more and more structural issues, then amending the plans and waiting on them to be approved by the city after each amendment, plus a GC I hired that lied about his level of experience and took forever to finish plus ignored every material selection I made and ran with his own finishes that were mostly bargain basement closeout garbage, it took a year and a half to get this from acquisition to stabilized.